Itachi and Sakura: Two Souls of One Heart
by iloveneji44
Summary: The Sandaime's curse has passed on to Orochimaru's next container. Orochimaru knows that he cannot persuade Tsunade to heal him, so he turns to her pupil for a solution. Kabuto is sent to kidnap Sakura, but finds that Akatsuki has beaten him to it.
1. Chapter 1

*Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto, nor any characters in it, but if you work for the people who make the Naruto series and like whatever the hell it is I'm doing, please give me a job as the one I'm at sucks terribly and my boss is a slave driver who makes me work the day after Christmas, on federal holidays, and overtime without any pay.... Thank you....

* * *

** It's been a few weeks since the new Team 7 returned after their first encounter with Sasuke after all those years of not seeing him. Naruto is busy training to learn how to use the element of wind. Sakura, left to some free time of her own has to wait for new team assignments. **

* * *

"Two weeks of no assignments," Sakura moaned to herself as she passed through the streets that were bustling with the afternoon crowd, "that's good, I guess."

After spending a few hours at the library, Sakura's right hand clutched a single book that read, "Human Experimentation: The Banishing of the Forbidden Juitsus." With Sai being out of commision from their last adventure, Sakura and Naruto were left in limbo, stuck between missions until their awkwardly weird partner got better. Naruto at least had a goal to work towards in learning more about his wind element, but Sakura was left with nothing to do but wait for something to happen.

Times like these were the worst for Sakura. Being left with nothing to do only allowed room for her to contemplate the past. Ever since Sasuke had left Konoha, she had to relive the memories of the night she begged him not to go. Things only got worse when Naruto had left with Jiraiya. It was a turning point in all of their lives. Naruto had left to become stronger, and Sakura had taken up her training with Tsunade to become a better shinobi and skilled medical nin. Still, even though Sakura was kept busy in their absence, the pain of having to face the loss of a comrade alone was hurtful. Even in the rare occasions when Sakura ran into Kakashi, she still could not relay the pain of loneliness at having been left behind. No one could understand what she was going through better than Naruto, and with him gone, she had no outlet in which to pour her tears.

Shutting the noise of the market out with remorseful thoughts, Sakura's feet wandered to a place that they had often taken her to. Before she knew it she was standing on the same path and next to the same bench that Sasuke had left her in the midnight hours the night he had left the village. Sitting on the cool stone bench, Sakura hunched over to let the breeze catch her bangs and float them so that a brief glimpse of the sun could glint in her watery eyes. As a lonely tear dropped to her lap, Sakura took advantage of her solitude to let herself sink further into her depression.

Sakura would come here to this bench often, not by her own decision but rather by pure unconcious instinct. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand, she leaned back and shut them to let the sun dry her tears.

"Sakura-chan..."

"Hmm?" Sakura murmured as she straightened up to see who called her name.

Standing to her right a few feet down the path was Naruto. The look of worry on his face instantly caused her to force a smile. In caution of having interrupted, Naruto walked slowly over to her and sat beside her. The look she had was one he had seen before, and he didn't even need to ask what it was that was bothering her.

"Naruto... I'm glad you're back," said Sakura with the same forced smile. "The whole time you were gone I felt like I was left behind...This whole time I wondered if you were thinking of me, if Sasuke was thinking of me, and it hurt me to know that this whole time we were a team, it was like I was just in the way. That last fight you had with Sasuke, I almost wish that Yamato-sensei didn't jump between us. I thought that maybe if I could stop it this time, I could be confident in death that I did not hesitate."

Naruto waited in silence as the leaves on the ground brushed past them with time. He could feel the loneliness emanating off of Sakura, so he sat there and listened until his heart told him to proceed.

"For me, you were never in the way, Sakura-chan.... Having you there is what made me keep fighting. I knew I couldn't be a screw-up at that moment because if I did, you'd get hurt. I don't care what you say, you were never in the way. Even when I left, you were a constant reminder to me why I can't fail. Training with Jiraiya was not easy, but all the while I was thinking of you, Sakura-chan... I made you a promise to bring Sasuke back, and I will. This last fight with him changes nothing for me. Sasuke wants to return to the village," said Naruto as he paused and looked to her with a smile of reassurance, "he just hasn't admitted it yet."

Looking at Naruto with suppressed tears in her eyes, Sakura smiled to her friend in thanks.

"Arigatou, Naruto-kun."

* * *

The moon was high in the sky, and only the sound of crickets could be heard. The forest did not rustle as there was no wind that night. From the shadow of the trees, two gleaming eyes peered out onto a meadow. Out stepped Orochimaru, the person whose eyes like a snake told of his cold and heartless nature. Orochimaru, the person responsible for the death of of the third Hokage, and ultimately the person responsible for enticing Sasuke from the village and into desertion. Facing out across the meadow towards Konoha, he began to slither when he spoke.

"Kabuto..."

From the trees came a sharp flash from the glasses of Orochimaru's most trusted servant.

"Switching bodies did not completely fix the juitsu that the Sandaime placed upon me. Even with your skills I don't believe you have the knowledge to undo what he did."

"Forgive me, Orochimaru-sama, I did not think that the damage would be passed to the next shell," Kabuto explained.

"Kabuto, the only person who could know of how to treat this, is one of two people that I cannot control. Tsunade is the only person who could come close to acheiving such a feat," said Orochimaru with a look of distaste at even saying her name.

"That option is no longer available, and now that she is the fifth Hokage, we have no chance of capturing her," Kabuto said, trying to defeat any reckless decisions before they surfaced. "There is no one else who could do it."

"There is one," said Orochimaru, pausing to let a breeze pass. "Sa-ku-ra... Her skills have grown tremendously under Tsunade's tutelage from what I've been hearing. Apparently she is preparing to even pass Shizune in skill. She might be able to do it. If she can't, then atleast we can eliminate her power before it reaches Tsunade's level. Taking down Sasori was not an easy thing to do. If we get her and she can't do it, at least we can eliminate her before she is a real threat."

"It might work if we use Sasuke as leverage," said Kabuto, now seeing the potential of the idea. "The operation to switch bodies is not for a while. Who and when do you want to execute this mission?"

"I want YOU to do it. It will not be an easy feat. You have two days to prepare and then I want you to bring her back. I'm counting on you, Kabuto..."

The two figures disappeared back into the shadows, but after a few moments passed, emerging from the tree that stood closest to them was the figure of a giant venus fly trap with a man's head in its mouth. It was Zetsu, a member of the Akatsuki, a group of shinobi who deserted their villages and were wanted in every nation. Disappearing back into the tree, he was gone...


	2. Chapter 2

Two days had passed and the streets of Konoha were quiet. The street lamp was the only source of light that came just out of reach of the Haruno residence. Nothing could be heard as the residents of the area were asleep.

A dark figure with a cloak appeared at the windowsill of Sakura's room. As it slid back the window and stepped in, it silently made its way over to the side of her bed where only a lump of the comforter that was there outlined a sleeping figure. The glasses of Kabuto flashed as he had reached his target. He had been watching her all day and followed her home without anyone noticing his presence. Pulling out a seringe filled with a clear liquid, he began to pull the sheets back to find her neck, only to reveal a pillow in place of a head.

Startled by his findings, he ripped back the blanket to reveal that someone had stuffed pillows into the shape of a human under the sheets. Unsure what to do next he ran to the window and jumped onto the roof. The only movement around was that of the shadow of a bird passing overhead in the night sky. Looking up, Kabuto identified the reason for the failure of his mission.

It was Deidara, a member of the Akatsuki flying overhead on what appeared to be a giant white owl. His long black coat with red clouds, a symbol of the Akatsuki which they all wore, flapped in the wind. Sitting on the back of the bird was Itachi, holding Sakura wrapped in a blanket in his lap.

Zetsu had informed Akatsuki of Orochimaru's plans. If Orochimaru had been fighting with less than 100 percent, it was a scary idea to think how strong he would really be at full potential. Itachi and Deidara had been dispatched immediately to retrieve Sakura before she came into the hands of Kabuto, and so far their plan had succeeded.

Suddenly a flare lit up the sky. They had been seen. Alarms were beginning to chime far below them, and Kabuto stared after them, now unable to pursue them with the whole village alerted to their acts. Shinobi and Anbu began to scale the rooftops tracking the bird's path out of the village.

"Deidara, we cannot risk being followed. We need to split up. I'll take the girl, you lead them away," said Itachi as he looked over his shoulder to Deidara.

"Once we reach the peak of that mountain I will drop you off," said Deidara. "We'll meet back at the cave."

Reaching the peak that Deidara had spoke of, he swung around the back side coming low enough for Itachi to jump off with Sakura flung over his shoulder like a rug. Deidara continued around the peak so that it appeared to the Shinobi following him that he had only changed his course.

Itachi began leaping down the cliff and landing at the bottom, dashed forward into the forest. As he ran he began to calculate his course back to the cave which Deidara spoke of. Recognizing that his scent would be caught by dogs, he made for a stream at which he began to follow, running on the surface of the water. He ran up a tiny waterfall and on further for about five minutes until breaking back into the forest. Itachi kept this pace until he had run for about an hour, finally coming to a stop in a tiny glen.

Setting Sakura down, Itachi sat, leaning against a tree. Pulling out a flask, he took a few swigs, capped it, and stuffed it back into his coat. A moan came from the catepillar looking heap that was Sakura.

Shaking herself, she sat up and put her hands on her head, wondering why she had a thumping headache. Opening her eyes slowly, she noticed she was in the forest. Startled, her eyes searched around until it landed on Itachi, sitting against the tree. Her heart jumped.

"Sa-su-ke?" she whimpered.

At first she tried to find reasoning in her situation before she realized that the face she was looking at was not that of Sasuke's. The eyes held a deeper thought, and the face was a little older. This face held a maturity in them that she had not quite yet reached. So, this was Itachi.

At once realizing what danger she must be in, she jumped up and ran in the opposite direction of him only to bump right into his chest. Voices came from the distance. Itachi grabbed Sakura and ran over to a tree a few feet away from where they stood and leapt up a couple of branches. Sakura let out a yelp.

A voice from faraway shouted, "I heard something from this way!"

Once Itachi reached a high enough branch, he threw open his cloak to swallow Sakura in it, covering her pink hair and white pajama dress.

"Scream and they won't find your body," he said. Itachi then wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her head, hugging her to his chest so that she couldn't move.

Everything was quiet. Sakura, wrapped tightly in the cloak and pressed against Itachi's chest, had no time to put her hands anywhere else except on his chest when he grabbed her. She could not help but notice how warm he was. The netting of his undershirt was tight to his body, the contours of his chest were solid, and the smell of his chest was of sweet sweat. She blushed at being in such close proximity to a man. It had never happened before. More stunned by this intimate position than by his threat, she remained silent.

Out of the shadows first came the ANBU, a special tactics team from Konoha that answers only to the Hokage herself. Their names are unknown and they wear masks to hide their identities. One of them who wore that of a cat walked forward and crouched down to pick up the blanket. Saying nothing, he handed it to his partner who wrapped it up and disappeared with it. No doubt they were going to get a tracker. The ANBU who remained crouching moved his eyesight from right to left. The mask he was wearing hid his expressions. After a short period he motioned to his comrades to move, and they disappeared into the direction that Itachi was originally heading.

As Itachi stared down from the tree, he remained silent and listening for any movement coming in his direction. Sakura, still blushing, tried to adjust herself in his harsh grip and accidently stroked his chest down towards the center. As she did this her face also snuggled into his chest, startling Itachi that he let the arm around her head loose. Sakura looked up at Itachi directly in the eyes. Taken aback by his slightly confused look, she blushed again at his face being so close to hers.

More voices were heard. Itachi once again wrapped his arm tightly around Sakura's head, smashing her face into his chest quite painfully. As Sakura squirmed to get a more comfortable position again, the scent of her hair floated up to Itachi's face. He had never smelt something so sweet in so long, and he almost welcomed it. Bowing his head closer to hers, he breathed in a little bit more of its scent. Sakura, wondering if he was sniffing her hair, stopped moving.

They were up in the tree for a good five more minutes. Loosening his grip, Sakura took two steps back. The wind suddenly picked up the bottom of her dress. Catching it before it blew up, she herself was picked up by Itachi at the same moment as he leaped down into the clearing. Immediately he let her go, swung her around, and struck her at the back of the neck. As the trees around her began to blur, the last thing she felt were arms sweeping her off her feet.

* * *

Standing on the roof of her office was Tsunade. It was now 4 o'clock in the morning and no news had been reported of progress. In the wink of an eye, two ANBU appeared.

"Report," she shouted.

"Tsunade-sama, we lost the bird. As for the number of intruders, we think that there may have been two. We found a blanket in a clearing in the opposite direction that the bird headed. It was still warm. We did not track it because we were still unsure as to the number of the enemy and what they could be preparing. A team is out looking for them," the first ANBU explained.

"Anything suspicious about the blanket?" asked Tsunade.

The second ANBU gave his report, "It seems the blanket belongs to a young girl judging by the smell. There were strands of pink hair as well."

"Find someone from the Inuzuka clan. Track the person that the blanket belongs to," Tsunade commanded.

"Hai," the ANBU said in unison before a puff of smoke engulfed both of them, disipating to reveal nothing.

At the front gate of Konoha, Inuzuka Kiba and his faithful dog, Akamaru, were handed the blanket by the two ANBU from earlier. Sniffing at the blanket, Akamaru immediately took off into the village rather than out.

"Oi! Akamaru!" shouted Kiba after his dog.

Immediately suspecting something, the ANBU took off after Akamaru, following him down streets and alleys before coming upon the Haruno residence. Nodding to eachother, the ANBU knocked on the door. A few moments later, the light turned on, and a woman appeared at the door.

Looking at the two ANBU at her doorstep, she said, "Can I help you?"

"We are looking for the owner of this blanket. Do you recognize it," he said.

"It belongs to my daughter. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Is your daughter home madam?"

"Yes, she's sleeping upstairs. One moment please," she said as she turned to go upstairs. Moments later she screamed.

Alerted to the commotion the ANBU ran up the stairs with Kiba following to find the woman standing over an empty bed.

"She's gone!" she screamed. Turning to the ANBU she looked to them for answers. "Where is she? Did something happen to her!?"

"Sakura..." said Kiba. "So it's hers..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Back at the Hokage's building, Naruto was making his way through the corridors to Tsunade's office. Suddenly joining him was Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei, do we have an emergency mission this early in the morning?" asked Naruto.

"I don't know, but I expect it has something to with what happened. The sun is not even up yet."

Opening the door to Tsunade's office, Naruto and Kakashi saw Tsunade standing with two ANBU before her.

"You wanted to see us Tsunade-sama?" asked Kakashi.

"Kakashi, Naruto," Tsunade said as she walked over to the window. "For what reason can you think of that Akatsuki would have to kidnap Sakura?"

"Akatsuki took Sakura!?" shouted Naruto.

"Hai," she said turning to them. "These ANBU and Kiba have confirmed it."

"The only reason I have is that they'd be using her as a hostage for Naruto and the Kyuubi inside of him," said Kakashi. "However, no one except for maybe Sasori of the Akatsuki would know their relationship. Not even Deidara would know their close relationship. Other than those two, none of the Akatsuki have ever really seen Sakura and Naruto together."

"Hmmm, I thought as much," she said as she paced around her desk. "This worries me even more. This places us at a disadvantage. Akatsuki never does anything unless it is necessary, which means that kidnapping Sakura must be part of something much bigger than we can forsee. Her life is in danger, that much is certain. I've got a bad feeling about it. Kakashi! Naruto! I'm assigning you to find Sakura. Seeing as you will need to take two more shinobi with you, I am assigning Yamanaka Ino and Nara Shikamaru with you for stealth attacks, seeing as Naruto covers as the powerhouse. This mission will need as much stealth as possible in order to retrieve Sakura from such a powerful enemy as Akatsuki. Find those two now, prepare, and head out!"

"Hai!"

"Hai!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As the sounds of birds began to trickle into Sakura's conciousness, she could feel the warmth of the sun shining through the trees and the sound of leaves brushing eachother as the wind blew through. Slowly opening her eyes, Sakura found that she was still in the forest, a little dazed, but comfortable. She found that she was wrapped in Itachi's cloak. Apparently he had wrapped her in his coat before carrying her swiftly through night for a few more miles. Slowly getting to her feet, Sakura looked around for her captor, and seeing as he was no where in sight, dropped his jacket, turned and made to runaway before she once again bumped into something familiar.

Standing before her was Itachi, looking down at her with a serious face and those dark eyes. Unaffected, he walked around her.

"There is no point in trying to escape. I would catch you before you took a step, and I could kill you in one breath. Don't be a bother."

Acknowledging that her skills were absolutely no contest to him, she turned back and leaned against a tree. Itachi tossed a wrapped riceball at her.

"Eat," he said, picking up his coat and putting it back on.

After she had finished, Itachi tossed her his flask from which she cautiously smelt before taking a sip. After taking back the flask, Itachi took a swig while staring at her with eyes that foretold their next journey, and grabbing her arm whipped her into which direction to go.

"Move," he commanded, shoving her forward.

They continued to walk for about a mile through a relatively dry portion of the forest before coming to a break in the trees. They could hear the sounds of water rushing. Coming out into the open sun, Sakura found herself standing before a river that fell into a waterfall. The sun was setting in the distance, and this was where Itachi planned to buy them more time.

"You first," he said, grabbing her from behind and throwing her over the waterfall into the pool below. Itachi paused for a moment, watching her splash as she landed before jumping down to the pool's edge.

Below the surface of the pool, Sakura began to swim immediately against the current, sticking close to the bottom so that Itachi could not see her shadow. She surfaced behind the waterfall, and climbed into a tiny cave that protected her from its spray. Outside, Itachi was waiting for her make an appearance, but after realizing that she swam away, immediately followed the current down as that would be her quickest way out.

As the sun set over the horizon, Sakura waited a few minutes before coming out into the open. She immediately took off into the forest running in the same direction that they were heading. If Itachi found out that she had given him the slip, he'd definitely be searching for her in the direction they came from.

Sakura ran for about a half hour, and it was now completely dark. It was early spring, and the cold chill of winter was still felt in the night. Sakura finally slowed to a walk and began to turn her direction back towards where she thought was Konoha.

The night grew colder and as Sakura was still in her slightly damp night dress, it was even colder. The wind began to pick up and the chill was biting. Eventually she let out a sneeze. At that moment, there was a rustling noise from behind and before it had even dawned on her Itachi had caught up.

Her chakra was weak. In an effort to escape, Sakura picked up a rock and threw it at him before dodging into trees, but just as Itachi had stated before, she was no match. He grabbed her wrist, threw her against a tree, pinning her wrists above her head.

Itachi's face was a fearsome thing to behold. His eyes were enraged and Sakura felt as though this could be her end. Tightening his grip on her wrists, Sakura let out a small groan. The hard chips of the tree dug into her skin, causing them to bleed. Itachi leaned in to whisper into her ear, "do that again and I won't hesitate to kill you the next time around." Loosening his grip, he threw her again into the direction he wanted to proceed.

* * *

Hours had passed and Sakura was now fully dry. The moon had come high into the sky. It was midnight, and now she was freezing. Sakura had now gotten to the point where she was almost deliriously cold, and her head bobbed with threats of unconciousness. She understood. This, was her punishment.

A few more moments passed and when she finally thought that she was going to pass out, she stopped dead in her tracks. Itachi, sensing that this was her limit, took off his coat. Itachi moved around to her front, wrapped his coat around her, and swept her up into his arms. He continued walking with the same pace as before as Sakura lay shivering in his arms. He hugged her closer so that his body heat would reach her quicker. Realizing that he couldn't go on like this for long, he made his way towards a cliff where he found a small cave.

Itachi left Sakura standing in the cave as he went to gather some materials for a fire. Sakura was too cold and exhausted to even think about moving from her spot. Itachi soon returned and made a small pile of sticks and leaves for the fire. Kneeling down, he produced hand symbols that allowed him to shoot a small flame from his lips to light the kindling. Itachi then made his way towards Sakura who stepped back, fearing some kind a physical retribution. Instead, Itachi paused before her, swept her back up, and placed her in his lap as he sat before the fire. Leaning his back against the cave wall, he propped her up so that her head and body leaned against his and tucked her legs into him before wrapping his arms around her. Closing his eyes, he began to fall asleep.

Sakura, enjoying this new found warmth, looked up at his sleeping face. After all that she had done, he was still considerate enough to keep her warm in the end. She was thankful, even after he had been mean to her. She picked up the outside of the coat and pulled it out from under his arm and wrapped it around to cover his; Itachi's eyes opened a little to watch her do this. Then, putting his arm back around her body, Sakura snuggled her head into his neck so that his head could rest upon hers. Itachi, in return, hugged her closer.

"Arigatou," she whispered. A moment of silence passed.

"What is it that Akatsuki wants," she asked, her eyes still closed.

Itachi, not much of a speaker, did not answer.

"I know that you don't have to tell me anything, but please," she said, opening her eyes, "I think a person should have a right to know...before they are killed..."

Itachi let out a miniscule sigh. He had never known a woman's touch. He was only thirteen when he had left Konoha. Everything since then had not brought him in contact with many women. This kind of attention was new to him, and in a way he did not want to let go of it.

"Please," Sakura pleaded, though her voice fell upon deaf ears.

Itachi closed his eyes and fell asleep. Knowing that she would not get an answer, Sakura closed hers and began to dream.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The fire that burned through the remainder of the night now stood with black ash and smoke. It was early morning and Sakura was sleeping on the ground. Itachi walked into the cave after catching some fish in a nearby stream. Rekindling the fire he began to cook the fish.

The smell of the fish cooking woke Sakura from her sleep. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes to find Itachi crouching over the fire. After handing her a fish on a stick, he took his outside to eat. Sakura, having not eaten since he had handed her a riceball, welcomed the fish with eager lips.

Soon after they were done eating, Itachi and Sakura began their journey flying at high speed through the trees. Sakura did as she was told. She knew that Itachi might really kill her this time if she tried anything. It did slow them down a lot which she had hoped before, but now she found herself wanting to be with him just a bit longer. Sakura was now attracted to Itachi. Although she was well aware of what was going on, she could not help wishing to steal a few more moments with him. In a way, she regreted slowing them down so much because she knew that Konoha's shinobi would be hot on her trail by now, and they were.

* * *

It was now midday and the rescue team had reached the waterfall. Looking over the edge, Kakashi, sending out his ninja dogs to catch a scent, found Itachi's. Sakura, having been drenched in water, made it hard for her scent to be caught.

"Kakashi," said Pakkun, Kakashi's lead dog, "we've picked up the trail of the male, though we haven't picked up Sakura's with his."

"Do you think she escaped, Kakashi-sensei," asked Naruto.

"Even though her scent has disappeared, it is unlikely that Akatsuki would have brought her this far and then killed her," replied Kakashi. "Even though we cannot sense Sakura's now, it is unlikely that she would have escaped. She is skilled, but she is no match for an Akatsuki member. We should follow the scent. It will atleast lead us to an answer of where she is."

Ino, Shikamaru, and Naruto all nodded in agreement. Following Pakkun downstream, the team was following the winding path that would eventually lead to Sakura's.

* * *

Itachi and Sakura had continued a quick pace throughout the day before night had fallen again. Jumping down from the trees, the darkness had finally set in to where they could no longer travel that way safely. Pausing for a break, Itachi soon began walking through the forest with Sakura walking a few steps behind. As night fell, their vision became far more obscured as the trees blocked out most of the moonlight.

Soon Sakura found herself having a hard time to keep up with Itachi as it was now more difficult to follow him while watching where she was going. Shifting in direction, Itachi suddenly turned, causing Sakura to almost walk into a tree. Before she hit it, Itachi grabbed her and pulled her into him.

The wind was the only sound that could be heard. Sakura stood staring up at Itachi's face while he stared at hers. A silence fell upon them but Itachi did not let go. Grabbing her hand, Itachi began to walk with her beside him now at a slower pace.

Sakura's heart was racing. Her thoughts were troubled with all kinds of questions.

_What am I doing!? Here I am, kidnapped and with the killer of the Uchiha clan. How could I have feelings for someone who killed his family in cold blood!? _she thought to herself as she walked on. _This can't be! I'm supposed to be in love with Sasuke and not his brother! Geez, this would surely make a happy ending._

After continuing on like this in her head, Sakura finally gave in to just being content with where she was at the moment, and that was that she was happy with just being there. Admittedly, she knew that much.

Before Sakura knew it, she had been compelled to stop, using her other hand to grab the one that was holding hers. Itachi stopped and looked back at Sakura whose head was lowered. As she slowly lifted her head to face his, the look on her face said it all. Itachi turned to face Sakura completely, and understanding what this meant, pulled her aside.

Itachi brought Sakura to where the trees were thickest. Placing her back against a tree, Itachi brought his left hand to the side of her face, and leaned in so that his nose brushed against her cheek. Sakura's heart was racing. Pausing there to breathe in her smell, Itachi leaned in to kiss Sakura. Her lips were sweet and his heart burned with a passion for her. Itachi wrapped his other arm around her back to pull her in closer to him. Sakura, unable to resist his presence, followed the ridges up his back with her hands until they could go no further. His smell was intoxicating, and the taste of him was unlike anything else. She had never kissed anyone before, and his lips seemed as if it were made to match hers.

"Itachi..." said a voice from behind him.

Stopping, Itachi pulled Sakura tight to him and looked over his shoulder to where the voice came from. Sakura, loosening her grip on Itachi, peeked around his arm to see a blue man that looked like a shark standing there with a gigantic sword wrapped in bandages. So this was Kisame, one of the Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and Itachi's partner.

"Whenever you are ready," Kisame gestured comically, "Deidara has already returned." Kisame then turned around, walking away as he chuckled to himself.

Itachi's attitude completely changed. He was once again resolved as he took Sakura by the hand and led her again through the woods.

After walking a short way, they came to the base of a mountain and began an upward climb. As they walked uphill, a mist began to slowly appear around Sakura and Itachi as the sound of trickling water could now be heard. Sakura noticed that the temperature became warmer and she realized that the reason was that they were near a hot spring. Coming into a flat clearing between two ridges of the mountain, they arrived at a small crack hidden behind a rock. There Itachi released her hand to enter. Stepping through the crack, Sakura found herself standing in a huge hollowed out cave in which the sheer size of it did not match its entrance. It seemed to have been carved out by some juitsu as the insides were smooth, and she found that there were many corridors leading in all directions. She could not tell how deep it went into the mountain. All she knew was that there was no way to escape, even if she tried.

Following two steps behind Itachi, they made their way into the center of a huge hall that was where the entrance was, and suddenly Sakura sensed a presence. Looking to her right she saw two eyes that almost seemed to glow from the corner. Kisame was leaning against the wall, waiting for them. They paused when he began to speak.

"There's a special room prepared for you princess. I wouldn't try to escape. There are worst things in this cave than me," Kisame snaked at her. "There are clothes prepared for you, though I much prefer you in these."

Never one to take that kind of mockery from the enemy with flaberghasted offense, Sakura stared at him, conveying her digust to him with her eyes.

"Now, now, don't look at me like that princess. I'm next in line to have a taste too," Kisame snickered.

At that moment Itachi turned his eyes towards Kisame, at which Kisame flinched. Sakura could not see Itachi's eyes as his bangs hung in the way. After that moment, Itachi faced forward and headed down the eastern corridor. About five doors in, Itachi stopped and opened one. Inside there was a small bed with a single table and chair. Sitting on the bed was a pair of black pants, a black top, a plain kimono, a towel, and a small pair of shoes. Apparently Deidara picked up a few items that would prepare her for the long haul.

"Is there a place I can bathe," Sakura asked, acknowledging that things were not going to be as smooth as when it was just her and Itachi. Itachi nodded.

Picking up the kimono and towel, Sakura followed Itachi back into the main hall to go through the south western corridor. Eventually she could feel the moisture getting stronger. Ahead there was a bit of light from an opening. Coming out from another crack, they were standing outside in a small wooded area on the mountain that was hidden by its towering sides. Leading her to a little pool that was shielded with bushes and clouded with steam from the hot spring, Itachi gestured to her that this was the place, turned, and walked out of sight.

Fearing the words that Kisame had said earlier, Sakura looked around warily. Pulling up her night gown, Sakura began washing her clothes in the hot spring then hung them to dry on a nearby branch. Slipping into the hot spring pool, Sakura relaxed and leaned her head against a rock. The sound of a nearby waterfall was relaxing, and in the mist Sakura closed her eyes to heal herself from all the mental and physical stress she endured. She did not notice that a few tiny waves pushing against the current from further down the stream had entered the pool where she lay. Slowly, the head of man was moving above the water into her area.

Still unaware that someone was there, Sakura opened her eyes to see a man looking at her with a towel on his head. Sakura let out a scream and being that the man was just as surprised, he screamed back.

Suddenly from the bushes a dark figure jumped out. It was Itachi. From the other side of the bushes Kisame came jumping out, startled by the sudden cry. Sakura, let out a bigger scream as now there were three men standing around her naked body hidden only by water, and it did not help that Deidara jumped up in front of her when she scared him.

Confused at what to do next, the three men just looked back and forth at eachother not knowing what to do next.

"Perverts!!" screamed Sakura, who all of a sudden by instinct picked up a rock and flew it at Deidara, hitting him square in the head. He was so stunned that he had forgotten to dodge.

Itachi, grasping the situation first, leapt forward and standing upon the water, grabbed Deidara by the neck pulling him out of the pool.

"I didn't do anything!" he yelled at Itachi.

Catching Kisame by the neck of his coat, Itachi threw both of them out of sight. Looking back over his shoulder to where Sakura sat with her back to him, he could tell that she was shaken.

Itachi walked back over to where he had previously been standing, and where Kisame and Deidara were now arguing.

"What the hell'd you do that for," Deidara screamed at Itachi. "and what the hell were you two doing here anyway!? Spying!?"

"I was standing guard," said Itachi.

"Standing guard? Or were we WATCHING the hostage, eh Itachi?" shouted Kisame.

"What I want to know is how you got here so fast, Kisame," said Itachi.

Unable to answer, Kisame sneered at him.

"Wait! Who's watching the hostage," asked Deidara.

Suddenly they all stopped to ponder the question.

Itachi, staring at the other two, daring them with his eyes to follow, made his way back to where Sakura lay with her head against the rock again. Coming from behind, he turned and sat with his back against the other side of the rock.

"Did they see anything," Sakura asked.

Itachi was quiet for a while, not sure how to answer, but then said, "I didn't."

Sakura just sat there.

"You know, I always thought that Akatsuki was a group of stern guys," she said, "but now I see that it's more like a bunch of clowns. How is it that you are able to accomplish such evil deeds with this kind of group?"

Itachi sighed, "I don't know."

Sakura, believing that she could trust Itachi, went on to wash her hair and dunk herself periodically. Itachi did not even flinch. He just sat there with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. Eventually Sakura had finished.

"Don't look," she said, as she looked over to the rock where Itachi was sitting. Slowly getting out of the pool, Sakura went to grab her towel and wrap it around her when suddenly a voice from behind the bushes went, "Chu! Chu!"

So shocked that she couldn't scream, Sakura turned around mortified to find Deidara and Kisame peeking through the bushes!

Before Sakura could utter a word, Itachi had already jumped between them, and shot forward grabbing both by their throats and pinning them against the cliffside.

"We're sorry Itachi but we couldn't resist," snickered Kisame, barely able to breathe. "We just wanted a peek at your girlfriend's goods, that's all!"

Deidara just kept laughing.

Suddenly Itachi released his grip. Standing behind him was Sakura in her towel. Before they could grasp what was to happen next, Sakura had already delivered a solid blow filled with chakra to both of their stomachs. Both Kisame and Deidara dropped. They were completely disabled.

"Princess, huh?" said Sakura. "Don't make me laugh."

Sakura turned and walked back to her kimono, put in on, and walked back up the passageway with Itachi following. Neither of them stopped to look back at the two who now lay crawling to get up.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sakura had gone back to her chamber, alone. Lying down in the bed, she noticed that the sheets, at least, were clean. Wrapping the sheets around herself, she curled into a ball. The cave was damp and cold, and it would take a while for her to collect her warmth. Facing towards the wall, Sakura noticed that there were etchings in the wall made with a shinai. Tiny scratches that told of someone's boredom and a restless night. Feeling the tiny etchings in the wall with her hands, she noticed that there were black strands of hair on the pillow. This was someone's bed.

The door behind her began to creak open. Her heart began to race. What if it was another stupid attempt by Kisame or Deidara? She could hear the door being closed, and footsteps heading towards the table. There was the sound of a coat being taken off and placed on the chair, which was slid back against the wall so that the person could sit. A minute or two had passed and there was no sound from the individual who was behind her. Finally turning slowly over to see who it was, Sakura found that Itachi was sitting with his head lowered and his eyes closed.

Sakura came to realize that this bed was his, and rather than intrude, he let her stay there alone. Feeling bad, Sakura was resolute. Slipping out of bed she made her way over to Itachi. Standing before him, he opened his eyes to look at her with no emotion, as he always looked at her.

Taking up Itachi's hand in hers, she turned around to lead him back to the bed. Suddenly he pulled her hard and she landed on his lap.

"I could kill you, you know," he whispered.

"I know," Sakura replied, looking him in the eyes. She then stood up to lead him to the bed again. This time following suit, Itachi followed.

As Sakura got into bed, Itachi pulled off his netted shirt so that only his necklace lay on his bare chest. He took off his head protecter that showed a symbol of Konoha crossed out. Sitting on the edge of the bed he kicked off his boots. Turning inward Itachi grabbed the edge of the sheet and flung it open so that it briefly revealed Sakura that lay tucked beneath it.

Itachi lay facing into her, and she lay facing him. For a while they lay staring at eachother in silence. Soon Itachi reached forward and placed his hand on her face so that his fingers became entwined with her hair. He then leaned into her with his eyes closed, giving her a soft kiss.

His touch was gentle, and Sakura noticed that his eyes too, had softened. Looking into her eyes and at her lips, Itachi remained staring in close proximity to her. Turning to hover over her, Itachi stared at Sakura, and began again with soft kisses. Sakura, welcoming his love, wrapped her arms around him to embrace him. She could feel his necklace dangling on her, and the feel of the skin of his back was smooth and strong. Itachi noticed how soft Sakura was to the touch and the smell of her enraptured him.

Pausing, Itachi pulled a bit back to look into Sakura's eyes. Sakura could see that there were so many things that Itachi wanted to say, but didn't know how. Itachi, unable to express verbally what he was feeling, picked up her hand and held it to his heart. His heart's pace was fast and his breathing much was harder. Sakura just stared at him with eyes that said she understood.

Given a nod of permission, Itachi reached down to untie her kimono...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The sound of a large explosion echoed and shook the room. Sakura awoke from her sleep to find that Itachi was already pulling on his coat.

"Stay here!" here yelled at her.

"Itachi!" she yelled after him, but he had already thrown back the door and shut it behind him.

Jumping to her feet Sakura grabbed the pants and top that she was given and put them on. Suddenly the door burst open and standing in the doorway was the silhouette of a slender, but rather familiar figure. It was Kabuto.

Pushing his glasses back into place, the sharp gleam of his glasses that flashed when he looked at her said one thing, "Found."

Sakura launched at him with fists concentrated with chakra, preparing to give a fatal blow. However, she greatly underestimated his speed as he had disappeared behind her and grabbed her by the hair.

Dragging her out into the hallway as she tried desparately to rip away, Kabuto found that his way into the main hall was blocked by another familiar figure: Naruto.

"Kage Buushin No Juitsu!" shouted Naruto as replicas of himself appeared everywhere.

"Don't you remember? I'm not going to kill you! I need you to kill the Akatsuki for me," stated Kabuto as he faced Naruto. Throwing Sakura to the side so that she whacked her head on the wall, she passed out and fell to the floor.

Pissed off on that note, Naruto's shadow clones rushed at Kabuto. Kabuto easily rejected each one so that one by one they disappeared. However, he did not see the two Narutos above coming straight down at him with a Rasengan, the fourth Hokage's signature move. Catching sight of it coming at him, Kabuto dodged just in time so that Naruto's Rasengan hit the floor.

Before the dust cleared, Kabuto sent a kick to Naruto's stomach causing him to spit a bit of blood. However, before Kabuto could get another strike at Naruto, Sakura's fist met the left cheek of his face, sending him flying across the main hall. Her vision was blurred as the hit to her head left her dazed. She didn't know if her chakra was at full strength in that hit, so preparing for Kabuto to strike back, she stood there for a moment swaying. Soon the room began to spin and Sakura began again to fall to the floor, only this time Naruto caught her, put her on his back, and made for the exit.

* * *

Once outside, Sakura began to awaken with the feel of the sun. The sound of loud explosions were coming from everywhere.

"Sakura, keep it together!" shouted Naruto.

"Oi, Naruto, what happened? Where did you come from," she asked in a daze.

"I'm not sure! I arrived with Ino, Shikamaru, and Kakashi-sensei. When we got here there was a full blown battle raging between Orochimaru and the Akatsuki! I ran in here to get you," he said as he began running down the slopes of the mountain. "Don't worry! I'll get you out of here!"

Suddenly Naruto slid to a halt. Sakura, raising her head to see what was wrong, saw Sasuke standing before them.

"Give her to me, Naruto," said Sasuke in a dark voice. It was the same tone of voice they heard when he last tried to kill Naruto.

"Why!?" Naruto shouted. "What does Akatsuki and Orochimaru want with her!"

Without saying a word, Sasuke reached for his sword, but stopped short of pulling it out completely. Below he saw a shadow that reached into the trees.

"Naruto, go!" yelled Shikamaru.

Naruto nodded and took off again with Sakura still being supported on his back. As he continued to race down the slopes, rocks before him exploded. Jumping to the side, Naruto found himself again face to face with Kabuto who had finally caught up. Dodging into the trees, Naruto was on the defense trying to avoid shuriken and kunai as they were whipped at him.

Naruto knew that the only reason why Kabuto was playing down his skills was because Sakura was on his back. Suddenly the forest opened out into a giant waterfall, and standing there on the water was Orochimaru.

"Naruto," hissed Orochimaru, "I'll be taking the girl now."

Kabuto paused on the other side of Naruto, awaiting his master's move.

"Put me down, Naruto," said Sakura.

"Sakura-chan..." whispered Naruto.

Setting her down, Sakura straightened herself up although she had a big headache.

"What is it that everyone wants with me," asked Sakura to her would be captor. "Is it to get to Naruto?"

"No, my dear girl," Orochimaru slithered, "I simply need the medical skills taught to you by Tsunade. That's all."

Sakura slowly reached for a kunai in Naruto's bag. At that moment, Kisame and Itachi appeared at the opposite bank.

"So, the moment has come when Akatsuki has to tell the reason for why they kidnapped me," Sakura said, looking over at the two on the other side.

Itachi did not say anything. Kisame was the one who spoke.

"Well, seeing as we are all here, I guess it's safe to say that we captured you as leverage against Orochimaru, as well as to keep you from getting into his hands," Kisame stated with sarcasm.

"I see," she said, looking over to where Itachi's eyes would not give off any emotion. The look burned into her heart. What if he had been ordered to kill her.

"Seeing as I most likely will not be heading home to Konoha in the face of Orochimaru and the Akatsuki," she stated as she walked towards the edge of the waterfall, "there is only one option left...Neither of you shall have me."

Leaping off the waterfall, Sakura dove straight down to the pool below. The rest followed to stop her as she made to slit her own throat. Before the blade could reach her throat, Sakura's hand ripped away from her. It was Itachi. He had managed to whip a line around her wrist, and yanking her into him the kunai slit his shoulder. Tucking her head into his chest, they went head first into the pool below.

Above the surface, Kisame shot water juitsus at the rest, causing them to enter into battle with one another. Unable to follow Sakura, they lost her and Itachi to the current. Being pulled under by the current, Sakura and Itachi found themselves sucked into whirlpool after whirlpool, until finally they came to an area where Sakura managed to cling to a rock with chakra. In the other arm was Itachi. His head was bleeding.

Managing to pull herself and Itachi out of the river, Sakura immediately began healing his injuries. Crying as she did this, Sakura focused all her energy into saving him. There was just so much blood gushing from the wound, she didn't know if he could already be gone. All she knew was that the wound was the cause of immediate danger.

Sakura managed to heal him, but the extensiveness of his injuries were intense. She used up so much chakra to do such an advanced kind of surgery that she was already beginning to feel the pangs of weakness. Placing her hands on his chest and an ear to his heart, Sakura listened for a beat to come through. Not knowing what to expect, she sighed in relief when she felt the strong thump of his heartbeats. As he lay there with his jacket spread open and Sakura upon his chest, Itachi in his unconciousness still managed to bring his arm around her. Smiling with her eyes closed, Sakura knew that it was going to be okay. However, as she lay there on Itachi's chest, a shadow was cast upon her face.

Opening her eyes, Sakura saw Kabuto standing before her. Suddenly there was an explosion further up the river and Sakura whipped her head around to see what it was.

Coming down the banks were Orochimaru fighting against what looked like Kisame and Naruto. Apparently the sheer strength of Orochimaru alone had forced their attention upon him rather than eachother. All of a sudden an arm wrapped around her waist and ripped her away from Itachi. With the loss of so much chakra she could not fight back any harder than a child. Kabuto fixed that with one solid punch to the soloplex. Completely out of breath and gasping for air, Sakura became limp in Kabuto's arms. Throwing her over his shoulder, Kabuto took off down the stream.

Itachi, coming to for a small instant, saw nothing but a small pink blur moving away before passing out again.

* * *

Waking to the sound of a fire crackling and running water, Itachi opened his eyes to find himself in the same wooded area by the hot springs. Sitting up, he tried to focus his eyes and shake off the remnants of sleep.

"So you're finally awake huh," said Kisame who was leaning against a tree. Sitting on a rock nearby was Deidara.

"Sakura?" Itachi asked.

"Taken. I was making my way over to you with Naruto. If I hadn't gotten there sooner, that stupid four-eyes would've killed you while you slept. Lucky for you, the Kyuubi kid and I managed to hang on to our lives while Orochimaru bought Kabuto time to escape," he said. "I guess their plan of getting Sakura hadn't changed."

"So," says Deidara, looking back and forth between the other two, "what's our next move. I've gotten a message to the rest of Akatsuki. They are of no help to us currently, we have no assignments as of yet, and we have NOT accomplished our mission of eliminating-slash-witholding the target! I'd say that's a FAIL."

"So then, Deidara," says Kisame in a sarcastic tone, "what is it that you suggest we do?"

"Personally," he replies, getting off the rock, "I don't know what we should do, BUT, I think we've just lost a shit-load of face with this one. I'd like to save our asses from being the embarrassment of the Akatsuki, and I'm sure Itachi would like to save his girlfriend. My vote is on rescuing the pink-head."

"Well, you've got a point," says Kisame in agreement. "Itachi?"

Itachi remained with his head lowered and nodded. Getting to his feet he walked over to the edge of the precipice. Looking out below he saw the glow of a fire.

"Who's that down there," he asked the two.

"Well, it seems that we've made a temporary allegiance," said Kisame. "The Kyuubi kid, believe it or not, did help me back there."

"And if it wasn't for me, I think, the three other Konoha shinobi might not be alive thanks to your little brother," chimed in Deidara to Itachi's back.

Looking over his shoulder back at Deidara when he mentioned his brother having been there, Itachi turned back to watch the fire glow from below.

"So then we are in agreement, we have an allegiance," said a voice from above.

Standing and leaning against the side of the cliff above them was Kakashi.

"We are planning to track Sakura's scent. I'm the expert at tracking, and that's all there is to it. However, I think we're both in agreement that the enemy is truly formidable and I think we're going to have to come together in this one."

Looking at Itachi, Deidara spoke. "It's true. We have lost their trail. Kisame and I were too busy to follow. Orochimaru and Sasuke made sure of that."

Itachi nodded to Kisame in approval. Kisame in turn, gave their answer.

"Agreed, we will work together and fight Orochimaru. However, the target is of debate. When it comes to the target, all bets are off."

Kakashi stood there for a while. He needed them, no doubt. There was no time to go back to Konoha for reinforcements, and this was their best bet. It's true that they were enemies, but Sakura was in immediate danger and he could not let go of his student so easily without a fight. It was only a matter of time before Orochimaru forced Sakura to do his bidding. After that there would be no reason to keep her around, at least not for long.

Acknowledging the agreement, Kakashi said, "deal," before jumping down from where he stood. "Oh, and I don't know what you meant by girlfriend, but we can discuss that at some other time."

Itachi turned around and started heading up the passageway back into the main hall. A short while later, he returned, stuffing something white into his coat.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

At dawn the newly founded search party stood on the opposite bank from where Itachi was found unconcious. There upon that spot was Kakashi and his pack of ninja dogs.

After a short while of sniffing, all of the dogs made their way downstream.

"Kakashi, this way," said Pakkun as he too followed the other dogs.

As the party began to follow the dogs downstream, it was an awkward situation that these new allies now faced.

"Shikamaru," whispered Ino, "don't you feel a little awkward? That shark guy is freaking me out!"

"Really?" said Deidara, swooping down on his giant white bird. "I'd figure freaks would stick together."

Flaberghasted, Ino's jaw dropped. She scowled at Deidara's back as he passed them.

After about an hour's run, the party came upon a ravine that the river flowed through. Above on the ridge they could see the pack running along when suddenly there was a loud explosion and a plume of smoke engulfed the dogs. Pakkun, still catching up to them, managed to skid quick enough to avoid the plumes.

Jumping up after them, the search party came upon the dogs, hacking with every breath. Pakkun stood a while away, trying to stand clear of any remnants.

Knowing that Kakashi was in the group, the dogs would be the only problem for a successful escape. A trap was set to counter any followers so they had positioned a smoke bomb to eliminate the dogs' smelling capabilites. Kakashi had run into these kinds of things before. Luckily it was only temporary, but it would be a while before they regained their sense of smell.

Walking over to the pack, Kakashi knelt and gave them all pats. "Well done boys." With that, they all disappeared knowing that there wasn't any more that they could do. Remaining behind was Pakkun.

"Well, atleast we've still got Pakkun!" Naruto sounded off with relief.

"Ano..." said Pakkun, raising his paw. "Unfortunately, I did not sniff Sakura's blanket before we left..."

"What!?" yelled Naruto. "WHY NOT!?"

"Well, I didn't think I needed to," he stammered. "If the whole pack is on the case, I don't usually deem it necessary. I'm just the messenger normally."

Sighing with anxiety, Kakashi said, "Well, I don't have the blanket with me now. So, any ideas on how to solve this?"

Suddenly Itachi unfastened the top button of his coat. Surprised by the sudden movement, everyone jumped back thinking Itachi was going to seek retribution, including Kisame. Hands were reaching into their shuriken bags, and everything was silent except for sound of the wind blowing through the ravine. Slowly, Itachi pulled out a folded piece of white clothing.

Kakashi relaxed, reaching out he took the cloth without taking an eye off Itachi.

Unfolding the material, Kakashi found that it was a night dress. He then gave the look that only a fumbled Kakashi can give.

"Ne, Pakkun," said Naruto, with a confused look on his face. "Why does Itachi have a night dress?"

"It's Sakura's," said Pakkun.

"EH!?" shouted Naruto in surprise. He then turned to give Itachi a suspicious glare.

Kakashi walked over to Pakkun and let him sniff the dress. As Pakkun took off circling the area where the smoke bomb went off, the party began to follow. Lingering behind was Itachi and Kakashi.

Walking back over to Itachi, he folded the dress back up. "Ano, should I give this back to you?"

Looking at Kakashi square in the eyes, Itachi grabbed the dress and tucked it back into his coat.

"For tracking purposes, I'm sure!" yelled Deidara, hovering above.

* * *

Sakura was uncomfortable. She had been hanging over Kabuto's shoulder for over two hours now. Finally they were coming to a stop. Flapping her down to the floor, Kabuto stood up and stretched his body in every direction.

"I think I broke my back under your weight," said Kabuto as he continued to stretch. "Who's next?"

Sakura lifted her head. Traveling ahead of them was Orochimaru and Sasuke. She did not know they were even there. For a brief moment, Sakura worried about what her butt must of looked like in the air.

Orochimaru didn't even say anything. He didn't have to. Sasuke on the other hand, just looked threateningly at Kabuto.

With that, it was decided.

"Looks like I'm carrying the piggy all by myself."

* * *

Night was falling quick and a storm was fast approaching. The search party was rushing to keep up with the scent. As drops of rain began to trickle down, the party began running at full speed.

"Hurry! We'll lose the scent!" yelled Itachi to everyone.

A loud burst of thunder crashed above them. The rain was starting to pour and the sound of it grew incredibly loud.

"Itachi," yelled Pakkun. "You guys take shelter! I'll run ahead and follow the trail as best as I can!"

"Right!" said Itachi.

Veering off to the left, Kakashi led the party towards a ridge. Part of it hovered over far enough to shelter them from the rain which was now coming in at an angle. As they pulled out of the storm, they began shaking off as much water as possible so that it wouldn't soak into their clothing. Stuck in their present situation, the only thing they could do was wait for Pakkun to return.

Everyone stood silently listening to the thunder and rain. It grew harder as a flash of lightning in the distance sent a loud tremor into their hearts.

As the thunder eventually grew softer and more distant, the company's breathing began to slow. Relaxed for the time being, they were thankful for a break in their travels.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "Is Sakura really able to heal Orochimaru?"

Sighing, Kakashi decided that it was time to tell them. "Sakura is talented, yes, and there are many things that Tsunade-sama has passed on to her that even I don't know. However, there is something that Tsunade-sama told me before we left," he said, looking towards the sky. "The juitsu that the Sandaime used on Orochimaru was the same juitsu that the Fourth Hokage used to defeat the Kyuubi. According to Tsunade-sama, she does not know if anyone else knows how to use it...Ultimately, the juitsu eats your soul."

"Eats the soul," asked Naruto. "Is that possible?"

After a few moments of silence, Kakashi continued. "The soul is irreparable. There is no medical juitsu that can be performed to fix that kind of a wound. Seeing as Orochimaru is still alive and in another's body, his soul that was transferred must still be incomplete. There is nothing that Sakura can do."

Thinking for a moment, Naruto asked, "Does Sakura know this?"

"I'm not sure if Tsunade-sama ever mentioned it to her, but Sakura's a smart girl. She'll figure it out. The only problem now is keeping the status-quo."

"The status...what??" said Naruto, confused.

"As long as Orochimaru does not know that Sakura is of no use to him, he will not kill her...Orochimaru will eventually find out the truth. It's just a matter of how long Sakura can hold out."

"What if he finds out after we take her back that she's got nothing to offer?"

"He'll kill her," says Itachi.

"Mmm," nodded Kisame in agreement. "If the Hokage is someone that Orochimaru cannot beat or if anything is at least equal to, it is unlikely that he would let someone like Sakura, a pupil of the Hokage, to just walk away. I for one have felt the brute strength of that girl, and she is without doubt a serious threat to Orochimaru in the future. She is young and her potential has not even peaked, nor is it even close to it."

"You can see it," said Deidara, straightening up. "The look in her eyes when she's serious is like the flames of hell: resolute and piercing. Orochimaru will discover that soon enough."

"Orochimaru could also just kill her to send the message home," added Kisame. "If you get my drift."

"Sakura-chan..." said Naruto softly.

Itachi had his back facing them. Kakashi looked over at him and thought that he was worrying for Sakura's life, but Kisame and Deidara knew better. He was looking out into the night, calculating the storm's path. He was anticipating the next move way ahead of anyone else. Closing his eyes, Itachi thought of every type of fortress that Orochimaru had prepared, and every possible way of entry judging by what he knew about him.

* * *

An hour had passed and while everyone remained in silent thought, Naruto had not stopped whining for the last half hour. He kept moaning and making grumbling sounds. At one point Deidara started flinging pebbles at him. Naruto thought it was falling from the cliff but nevertheless was annoyed. Eventually he figured it out and had gotten into an argument with him. Kakashi had to grab him over the mouth as usual.

Finally a small dot in the distance was making its way through the rain to them. Pakkun, breathing hard but still keeping the same pace, returned to tell them the news.

"I followed the trail as far as I could begfore it disappeared at the other side of that mountain. It didn't lead me to any conclusions of Orochimaru's lair being near. It just stops in the middle of the forest."

"Well, we should at least wait until the rain stops. We'll do watches in turn. Two at a time, three hours each," said Kakashi sitting down and leaning his back on a rock. "We'll start with you Naruto, since you have so much energy."

"Ach!?"

"...and I think Akatsuki would want to put on a man from their team?"

Nodding at eachother, it was decided that Kisame would partner with Naruto.

While everyone found a comfortable position, Kisame went and sat beside Naruto. Patting him on the back, he turned and grinned a sharkly grin.

Naruto trembled. It was going to an awkward three hours...


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sakura was taken down a stairway that was in the middle of the forest. Looking from far away, no one would be able to tell that there was a hole in the ground leading down. As they entered, she came into a chamber much like the one Akatsuki had, and now that she recalled, similar to the original one she walked into with Jiraiya and Naruto when they first went looking for Sasuke.

Walking with Orochimaru and Sasuke at her front with Kabuto covering the back, Sakura was dreading whatever tortures they had in store. Kabuto grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her down a hallway. Taking her to the furthest room of that corridor, Kabuto opened the door and shoved Sakura in.

Sakura was flung up against a table so that her stomach, bruised from travel, ached in so much pain she shut her eyes and grabbed at her stomach. As the pain slowly subsided, she found that she was hovering over some very sharp medical instruments.

Suddenly, Kabuto came from behind grabbing her with one arm around the waist and using his other hand, came from behind to left her chin. Pinned against the table, she couldn't move. From the other side of her face, Kabuto put his face delicately to her neck. With his lips brushing against her skin, he began to whisper to her.

"So, Sakura..." he said, smelling her neck. "I hear that you have knowledge from Tsunade that would be of use to Orochimaru-sama."

Squirming in agony as his hand made its way under her blouse, Kabuto began concentrating chakra that burned the skin of her stomach.

Letting out gasps of pain, Sakura teared as the burning got worse.

Taking his hand back out, he brought it up to grab the other side of her face.

"Now, you may not do it now, but you will. Orochimaru-sama is an impatient person, but, he is kind enough to give you a few moments to think this over. After that..."

Kabuto picked up a scalpel from the table. Bringing it close to her eye, he slowly followed the side of her face and down to the middle of her chest with it before he cut open the top fastening and looked back to her eyes. "I think you get my point."

* * *

The rain did not stop until dawn. By this time, Naruto and Kisame were back on watch. Yawning big, Naruto looked as if he were ready to pass out again. As the sun came up with the rain's demise, the warmth of it woke the party up from their slumber.

Opening her eyes, Ino found an arm wrapped around her.

"Yaaaaahhhh!!" she screamed, jumping up and shoving whoever it was that dare lay hands on her while she was asleep.

Startled, everyone whipped around to find that somehow Deidara had made his way from all the way on the edge of the party to the other side where she slept.

"I'm sorry!" yelled Deidara. "I don't know what happened! Maybe I sleep walk?"

Scowling at him again, Ino could do nothing but ball her fists and glare.

"Ya-dah," said Kakashi, "I think we're all up now."

As they all got up to stretch, Kisame made his way over to Deidara.

"What was that?" he asked him.

"Uhhh, well...since Itachi found a girlfriend, I thought I'd find one too," said Deidara, smiling.

"Baka..." muttered Kisame, perplexed.

"Let's head out, shall we?" suggested Kakashi.

* * *

Sakura was shoved into a room that had nothing but a bed, a table, and a single chair. She was amazed at how its resemblance to the other hideout was so intensely similar.

"You've got two hours to recover any chakra. Seeing as I carried your fat ass here, that shouldn't be a problem," said Kabuto slamming the door behind him.

Sakura looked around the room. It looked exactly the way Itachi's did.

Slowly walking over to the bed, Sakura took off her shoes and slid under the sheets. They were at least clean, she thought. Turning to face the wall, Sakura closed her eyes. Opening them, she saw that there were little etchings on the wall that was quite hidden behind the bed.

Focusing her eyes on the images, now seeing that there were about five of them in a cluster, Sakura noticed that it was in fact, Sakura. The tiny cherry blossoms were grouped together, but to the side of it was another cluster of five other images, Naruto. The little drawings of the fishcake that you'd see in bowls of ramen were drawn with tiny swirls dancing in a circle.

_Sakura and Naruto_, she thought. _This must be Sasuke's room._

Not knowing how old these drawings were, all that Sakura knew was that the Sasuke that stood before her now was much different. Much more crueller.

The door behind her creaked open. She froze. _What if it's Orochimaru?_

Footsteps from behind came up to her.

"Sakura," said the deep voice. It was Sasuke's. "Did you see Itachi?"

Not having the guts to turn over and look him in the eye, Sakura replied, "no."

The blanket was ripped off of her, Sasuke grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, lifting her to just below his eye level, he stared at her eyes. He was using his Sharingan.

The Sharingan was what they call a "blood limit", a skill that is inherited and cannot be taught. Staring into her eyes, Sasuke could tell what it was that she was trying to hide. What he saw, he didn't like.

Sasuke could see that she had been with Itachi, and even worse, defiled her. Sasuke enraged, threw her across the room. She skid three quarters of the way before rolling and slamming against the wall. As she lay facing the floor, before she could even get up he was there. Grabbing her by the collar again with one hand, Sasuke ripped the door open with the other. He dragged her into the main entrance hall and began beating her. Hitting her from every direction, he was much too quick for her to dodge his attacks. Sakura crashed to the floor, passing out. Sasuke was about to kick her.

"Sasuke," said Orochimaru. "Do not destroy what we worked so hard to accomplish."

"Urusai!" yelled Sasuke, taking off into one of the corridors.

Orochimaru looked at Sakura on the floor. It would be at least a good hour before she'd even twitch. Turning around, Orochimaru disappeared. Lucky for Sakura, a half hour was all that she would need.

* * *

As the party followed Pakkun to the spot, he walked in circles for a while, sniffing at the forest floor.

"Here," he indicated. "This is where I lost it."

Puzzled at what to do next, the party began looking around for any clues.

Itachi, standing a bit away from them, stood there silently to see if he could sense anything. His gut was uneasy for the last fifteen minutes. He knew something had happened. A shinobi is only as good as their purest instinct. Itachi's instinct was the best. Following his instincts alone, he began to walk east, away from the party. There was something there.

Coming to a tiny clearing in the trees, Itachi's gut pulled him forward in a straight line. Before him was an opening to the ground. He did not even bother to call the others, and no one even noticed he was gone.

Walking down the dark halls, Itachi was coming to the entrance hall. In the middle of the floor lying in darkness was a tiny figure. As Itachi cautiously approached it, he saw a small heap of red and pink. It was Sakura.

Sakura's hair was mixed with blood, still wet and still gushing from wounds. He couldn't see her face. Looking side to side, he did not sense any presence, and being that there was no one to evoke his chakra, no one sensed him.

Picking up Sakura's fragile being, Itachi turned and walked all the way back out without a hindrance from anything. Not even a bug got in his way.

Stepping out into the sunlight, Itachi saw the full extent of Sakura's damages. Her hair was stuck to her face because of the blood. Hugging her closely to his body, he brushed the hair off her face with his nose. Putting his head upon hers, he could feel his heart breaking. Her breath was so weak and she was completely limp in his arms. Her sweet smell was gone. No all he could smell was blood.

Coming back upon the party, they all turned towards him when he reappeared. They were bickering.

"Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto, running over to her but stopping a foot away from her body. Unable to breathe, he stared at her with a look that showed he was in agony. Feeling helpless and unable to do anything, his eyes began to well up in tears. "Sakura-chan..."

Wiping his face, his look of agony turned into anger. Before he could say a word, Kakashi spoke.

"Naruto, now is not the time. We cannot stand here and fight while protecting Sakura. We need to move. Now."

Nodding in agreement, Naruto accepted the circumstances.

Everyone did not foresee this. They were preparing mentally for battle, but suddenly having a badly beaten Sakura on their hands made them all uneasy. Now they were the ones going to be tracked.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Preparations needed to be made, they didn't have much time. Traveling with an injured comrade would slow them down. They considered putting her on the back of the bird with Deidara, but he'd be spotted instantly, giving off their immediate location.

"We could split up," said Ino.

"That would put each team at risk," said Shikamaru. "Splitting up would diminish our chances of escaping alive, as well as jeopardize the mission."

To a Shinobi, accomplishing the mission is the number one priority. Ultimately for them it meant getting Sakura back alive. Even though they had a good chance that the party without her would be followed, it still risked the life of the person they came to save should it end up going the other way.

"We'll catch up," said Deidara, signaling to Kisame. The two of them ran in the direction that Itachi had brought Sakura from.

Nodding to them, Kakashi took off at the head of the group. Itachi ran behind him with Sakura in his arms, stepping as swiftly and gently as possible. He was then flanked by Ino on the left and Shikamaru on the right. Naruto covered the rear as he could easily use shadow clones to stall an enemy attack.

As Deidara and Kisame approached the entrance, Deidara produced tiny white beads of explosives and stuck them around the sides of the entrance. Busying himself in the surrounding area, he moved so quickly and silently that not even the birds went silent in the trees. Kisame had made a cut in his hand and began marking the trees that ran an alternate direction from where they were truly headed. This would at least buy them some time if the enemy didn't survive the explosion. Signaling to eachother when they had finished, the two of them made away at top speed.

Kakashi's group were running for about ten minutes before they sensed the other two coming up behind them. As they approached the party, Kisame spoke to Deidara.

"You cover your girlfriend, I'll watch the Shadow Kid's side," indicating Shikamaru.

By this point, each party had a general knowledge of the skills of the other. Being that Shikamaru and Ino were the slowest when it came to powerful attacks while moving at high speeds, strengthing the sides were the most logical option, but they also didn't care too much about Naruto.

The whole group was anxious. They were all listening for an explosion to sound their being discovered, but it didn't happen.

They were traveling for about an hour before Sakura let out a moan. She jerked her head up and crunched her body as she clutched onto Itachi's jacket. Looking down at her Itachi's eyes showed no emotion, but his heart was wrenching as her hand gripped him harder. His only thought was to get her to safety.

"I need to treat her wounds!" yelled Ino. She had been observing Sakura the whole way. It was imminent that they get away, but Sakura was in desperate need of medical attention. "Her breathing has changed! We need to stop!"

"Kakashi..." said Itachi.

"Hai..."

Switching his course, Kakashi made his way towards a small mountain. There he could plan their next move, get a view of the terrain, and keep an eye out for enemies while keeping them at an advantage point. So far they had not detected anyone else's presence, but the threat of their being discovered was plagueing their thoughts.

As they reached the base of the mountain they followed it around to mount its back. They didn't want to be spotted as they climbed up the side of the mountain. Coming to an indent in the mountain that had a good amount of trees to shield them, they stopped.

"I'll go check our location," said Kakashi as he took off around the mountain. Following him was Shikamaru, Kisame, and Deidara.

Itachi lay Sakura gently upon the ground. Naruto took off his jacket and used it as a pillow for her head. Ino dropped to her knees and immediately began assessing her condition. After a quick examination, Ino began to heal her wounds. Itachi and Naruto stood back in anticipation.

On the other side of the peak Kakashi and the other three lay hidden in the shadow of the trees to look back from where they came. They had traveled for an hour and a half. So far there had been no explosions.

"Do you think they evaded the trap?" asked Shikamaru.

"No, we would've heard it go off," explained Deidara. "I rigged the exit that Itachi had come from, meaning that that would be the nearest exit from where he found Sakura. There was also a trail of blood from her that was left coming out. There's no mistake about the direction they would follow after her. My trap would have set off. I'm just too good," he added, smiling.

"Well, let's check the terrain," said Kakashi.

Splitting up, each of them except Kakashi took the West, North, and East sides of the mountain to observe their options. Returning to where the rest of the party attended Sakura, they gave their reports.

"To the West is nothing but flat land," said Shikamaru. "The Sand Village is also in that direction. It's the closest village that can offer us protection."

"I don't think they'd understand our little allegience," smiled Deidara.

"Let's put a hold on that option for now," said Kakashi. "To the North?"

"Our little hideout," said Kisame. "Though, I don't think that's an option anymore. We could try another hideout to the South back towards Orochimaru, but I doubt we'd be able to backtrack undetected."

"Hmm, I thought about that too, it's got a bad aura all around it," debated Kakashi.

"To the East lies Konoha..." said Deidara softly. "It's our best bet in my opinion, but it's the furthest location from where we are. It would leave our backs exposed the longest and there is without doubt, a chance that Orochimaru will catch up to us...but, Konoha is a fortress that Orochimaru fears. Taking Sakura there would be the end of the chase for sure."

"I'm betting that Orochimaru would bank on us heading to the Sand Village," reasoned Shikamaru. "If it's the safest and quickest option, he may just go that path. He may not also be counting on us having another medical ninja with us. He'd expect Sakura to need immediate treatment at some point in the near future."

"Should we head West and cut back North before heading East to Konoha as a precaution?" asked Kisame.

After thinking for a moment, Kakashi answered, "no. Time is all that we have. Orochimaru can catch up to us quickly if we're carrying a less-than-up-to-par Sakura. Our only hope is that he himself chooses to go West while we try and keep ahead of them. We should heal Sakura and get moving as soon as we've gotten rest."

Looking around, Kakashi could tell that everyone was still uneasy. A little sleep would do them good to calm their nerves.

As Kakashi's eyes made his way over to Sakura, he walked over to Ino who was still hovering over her body. After a few seconds she finished, and got up to wipe the sweat from her brow.

"How's she doing?" he asked Ino.

"Good, but not good enough," she explained. "She should have been tended to sooner. She had a lot of internal damage...You know, for someone who wants to be healed pretty badly, Orochimaru sure doesn't care about putting the person who can treat him out of commision!"

"I don't think it was him..." muttered Naruto. "Orochimaru doesn't have the temper to do something this irrational...neither does Kabuto..."

"Are you saying that Sasuke did this!?" asked Ino, shocked at such an idea.

"He's the only one capable of doing such a thing without being stopped by Orochimaru..." Naruto explained.

At that moment, Itachi took off his jacket. Kneeling by Sakura with his back to the others he threw his jacket over her.

* * *

As the others dozed off, Deidara was keeping watch by himself at the other side of the mountain. He sat there on a boulder hidden between two trees. He let off a yawn and stretched so far that he almost fell off. Coming up behind him was Ino.

Ino sat beside him on the boulder about two feet away.

"Want some?" she asked, handing him a peach. There was a tree growing near their resting spot ripe with them, signs of Spring's bounty.

"Thanks," he said, taking one from her hand. As he did this he grabbed the rest of her hand as well, brushing it as he took the peach from her.

Blushing, Ino couldn't say anything. After a while, she asked him, "what happened to your other arm?"

"Kakashi..." he responded nonchalantly.

Back where the others were resting, Itachi was not hiding his relationship to Sakura anymore. Picking her up, he carried her off to a shaded area a bit away from the rest. Kakashi kept his one uncovered eye slightly open to watch him do this. Naruto on the other hand was about to sit up in protest but Kakashi used his left arm to quickly stop him by bringing it down on his chest. Unable to argue, Naruto just frowned.

Itachi found a grassy spot that was cool and soft. There he lay her down on the softest part. Taking out his flask of water, he dabbed some of it onto a rag and began wiping away the remnants of dried blood from her face. Sakura began to stir.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at Itachi whose face resembled one in mourning.

"Hey," she whispered.

Itachi responded with a tiny smile.

Adjusting herself, Sakura's face scrunched as the pain from her beating seared through her body. Itachi laid beside her and using his arm as a pillow for her head, tucked her into him.

Sakura smiled a smile of relief, at last being in the arms of the one who would protect her. Sakura brought her hand to Itachi's face. He responded by doing the same.

"Did Sasuke do this?" Itachi asked.

A troubled look came across her face. She did not know how to answer. The thought that Sasuke was the one who beat her had not bothered her until that moment. Until then she hadn't remembered a thing, just the pain. Eventually she nodded to Itachi in admition.

Itachi's face remained the same. She could not tell what he was thinking. If Sasuke beat her up like this for being with Itachi, she couldn't imagine what it was that Itachi was thinking about doing to Sasuke at that moment. However, instead of ruining the moment, Itachi remained unflinching in his attention to her.

Pulling her closer, Itachi kissed her lips. She still smelt of blood which in turn made his own blood boil at the thought that Sasuke's hands were upon her. Trying to ignore that fact, Itachi hugged Sakura tightly to him, tucking her head under his before letting off a big sigh. He could tell that her warmth had not completely returned to her body. Squeezing her a little tighter, Itachi fought to restore it.

Sakura was in heaven. The rythym of his breathing along with the familiar smell and feel of his chest rising and falling made her calm. If she could stay like this forever, she would have. Sakura began to close her eyes and drift into sleep.

"Aaah!..." Sakura gasped, grabbing at her stomach in sudden pain. Itachi sat up and called for Ino.

The sudden call led everyone to jolt. Ino could hear the commotion and came running back with Deidara.

As everyone surrounded Sakura not knowing what was wrong, Ino stretched Sakura out so that she could reexamine her.

"Sakura," commanded Ino. "Let me see your stomach."

Sakura was clutching her stomach, she couldn't hear a thing. Everything was silent in the face of this searing pain. She had never felt anything like it. It was so deep that it just threw her to the verge of insanity.

Grabbing her wrists, Itachi pulled apart her arms and pinned them to the ground. Her body was thriving to the pain. Kakashi grabbed her ankles to steady her.

Ino slowly began to untie Sakura's blouse. Opening the flaps of it to reveal Sakura's stomach, they found a hand print burned into her stomach. It indented inwards with a tinge of deep purple. The blood vessels around it were beginning to show. It seemed to be spreading.

"That wasn't there before..." said Ino, quietly to herself.

Everyone was silent. They all could feel the tension that something was terribly wrong with this situation.

"Give me a minute everyone," Ino commanded to the rest. "I need some space."

* * *

Back at Orochimaru's den, Kabuto was walking down the hall towards Sasuke's room. Opening the door, Kabuto found Sasuke lying on the bed and Sakura no where in sight.

"Sasuke," said Kabuto warily. "Where's Sakura?"

"You can find her in the main hall...on the ground," he answered.

"I just came from there. There's no one."

Sitting up, Sasuke turned to Kabuto with eyes that seemed to glow with anger. Getting up from the bed, Sasuke walked out the room not even glancing at Kabuto as he did so.

Coming into the main hall, Sasuke stopped short of where he left Sakura lying unconcious. Looking at the spot where she had lay, he saw the trail of blood from her leading towards the entrance.

Knowing that Sakura could not have gotten far with the wounds he had dealt upon her, Sasuke and Kabuto followed slowly after the blood trail until they reached the entrance. As they walked up the steps coming to the top, they saw the little beads of explosives that Deidara had so carefully placed. It was too late, they had triggered the trap.

Sasuke and Kabuto were too fast. They leapt up and out of the entrance just in time to escape the small explosion. However, that wasn't the real trap.

The small explosion sent tremors to the surrounding trees whose trunks had big gobbs of explosives stuck to them, camouflaged with leaves. A huge explosion set off around them. Still, they were too fast.

Dodging back into the entrance hall, they were protected by the full force of the blast. As the dust began to settle, two gleaming eyes came from the darkness behind them. It was Orochimaru.

"What happened..." hissed Orochimaru.

Looking back at him, they had nothing to say. There was nothing they could say.

"She escaped..." he went on to state the obvious.

"Don't worry, Orochimaru-sama," explained Kabuto. "I used a medical juitsu on her that won't let her get far...Not without help."

"She had help..."

* * *

Back at the mountain, Ino finished examining Sakura's newly surfaced wound when the rock of the explosion caught their attention. Picking Sakura up, Itachi raced to the other side with the others to observe the rising cloud of black smoke.

Everyone stood there silently watching. Now they knew exactly where their position lay.

Kakashi looked on at the explosion, but spoke to Ino.

"Status," he asked.

"Sakura's wound is advanced," said Ino, pausing for speculation. "The wound stems from a burn that Kabuto gave her by placing his hand upon her stomach. She does not know what he did."

Pausing for speculation, Ino went on. "What bothers me is that Sakura said that she was given two hours to give in to Orochimaru's demands, and the mark appeared approximately two hours after we found her. My thoughts are that this is some kind of torturing method designed to get worse after a specified period."

Turning to Kakashi, Ino confirmed their next move. "I don't have the knowledge for what kind of treatment she needs. Tsunade-sama is the only person that I know who would."

"Do you have an idea what would happen without treatment?" asked Kakashi.

"For all I know, she could die," said Ino. "Or worse...she could be mentally traumatized for the rest of her life if the pain continues...She could go insane."

"Then it's settled," said Shikamaru. "We head for Konoha."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"How will we be able to keep a pace if Sakura can barely move?" asked Naruto.

The question was on everyone's mind. There's no way they could make a dash for Konoha carrying Sakura. Everyone looked at each other, trying to think of some other way to do it. They couldn't divert, split up, or even more, leave her hiding somewhere when she needed the medical attention.

"ANBU..." said Itachi, looking over to Kakashi.

Kakashi looked uneasy, and he didn't say a word.

"What?" said Naruto, looking back and forth between them.

"No, that's too dangerous!" Ino protested.

"What is?" asked Naruto.

"There's a chance she won't make it," said Kakashi.

"She will die anyway if we don't try," reasoned Itachi.

"WHAT!?" yelled Naruto. "Would SOMEBODY tell me what's going on!?"

"Survival Juitsu..." muttered Ino. "It's a move only ANBU use in the most extreme circumstances."

"Being that ANBU are sent on the most important missions pertaining to the Hokage, they are the only ones who are taught this technique," explained Kakashi. "The Survival Juitsu is exactly what the name means: SURVIVAL. It's what ANBU use as a last resort should they be the only hope left in carrying out the mission...It's precisely for the survival of the MISSION, and not necessarily the shinobi...

"If an ANBU were to become the last hope of the mission and is left in a state of utter pain, they can perform the Survival Juitsu as a way of sealing off their sense of pain. They in essence, become numb."

"Yeah, and if done wrong you can die!" shouted Ino. Glaring at Kakashi and Itachi for even suggesting the idea.

"So how is it performed?" asked Naruto.

"The shinobi uses his two index fingers, and using chakra to form thin needles extending from the finger tips, he jabs two points in his neck, cutting all feelings of pain off from the brain. It's very successful if done right, but once it wares off, the full extent of damage is felt, including any new ones incurred along the way. By that time you could be at the brink of death and not even know it. You get as far as you can before it wares off, and at that point the idea is to be at your destination, with your mission accomplished."

"The chances of a person succeeding in performing the technique right is only 60. Even then the chances are reduced if done by someone else, as the angling of the chakra needles needs to exact," pointed out Ino. "Sakura and I don't even know how to do it, and we're medical ninja! We're fully aware of the odds of surviving that one!"

"Kind of makes you miss Neji..." says Naruto.

Ignoring Ino, Itachi looked at Kakashi. "I'll do it."

"WHAT!?" yelled Ino. She couldn't believe her ears. Nevertheless, Kakashi was the leader, and ultimately it was his decision. Turning away, Ino didn't let them see her face.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. This was their only chance. Walking over to Sakura, he put his arms under hers and used his hands to secure her head. She was still writhing with pain in intervals, making the procedure much more difficult. Itachi walked over and sitting on her legs, looked her square in the eyes.

"Trust me..." he said to her.

Looking at him with eyes that were full of fear, she gave a small nod to proceed.

Gathering chakra in his fingers, two needles began to form at the tips. Closing her eyes, Sakura felt Kakashi tilt her head back. Within a split second, she felt a sharp jab to the throat.

Keeping her eyes closed, Sakura was afraid to even open them for a few seconds after the jolt. As she slowly opened them, she looked at Itachi, unsure whether it had worked. Itachi then flicked her nose.

"Did that hurt?" he asked.

"No..." said Sakura, pausing to actually think about it.

"Good," said Itachi with a smile.

"Sakura, if you feel anything at all, you tell me right away," instructed Ino, eyeing her up as they stood up to leave.

"Hai...Arigatou, Ino," said Sakura before turning to Kakashi.

"Kakashi-sensei. How much time do I have before the juitsu wares off?"

"Depends on the person," he replied. "Try to maintain your chakra at an even pace and don't over-exert yourself. Normally it would take approximately twelve hours."

"Twelve hours," she gasped. It would take them maybe about fifteen to get home from there at a solid pace. They'd have to manage to cut three hours worth of travel time.

There was no time to lose. They immediately took off now that they all knew exactly how much time they had.

As they ran down the mountain, Sakura was amazed. EVERYTHING was numb. With each step as she landed, Sakura would wait for any sensation verifying that her foot touched the ground. The only thing keeping her from missing her step was the fact that she paid close attention to each movement.

Moving in leaps and bounds, Sakura forgot to watch herself.

"Sakura," said Kakashi. "You don't want to overdo it. Try to remember your normal pace, and stick with it."

"Hai," she said, slowing down to a pace that matched the others. She wondered how long it would be before Sasuke caught up. By then, she didn't think that he would be as restrained as the last time.

* * *

An hour had passed since Kakashi's team left the mountain peak. Sasuke now stood on the spot where Sakura was with Itachi. His gut was screaming in anger.

"By now I think they would have figured out the real problem," said Kabuto, squatting to get a feel of how long ago they were there.

Orochimaru said nothing. He just stared out at the eastern horizon, calculating the path of his prey he licked his lips.

"Kabuto..." he slithered. "Which way do you think they went?"

"West," he replied. "The Sand Village is the closest, and with the most protection to offer."

"Maybe...but they still would have to leave at some point, and I don't think the Kazekage would agree to let in the people who threatened the life of his village. No..." Orochimaru continued. "It's Konoha."

* * *

Five hours had passed. This time, no one really knew if they would even be followed.

"Let's stop here!" yelled Kakashi.

The group came to stop next to a stream. Sakura didn't even feel tired. In fact, it was as if the juitsu somehow gave her energy.

"Fifteen minutes," said Kakashi, alerting the crew to the time they had to fuel up.

Sakura walked over to the stream. Kneeling down, she scooped up some water with her hands for a sip. Hovering a few feet away was Itachi. He stood over her presence like a bodyguard, unflinching and unexpressive.

"Sakura," said Ino, calling her over. She glanced at Itachi as if to say, _stay there._

Sakura followed Ino into the shade of some trees. When Ino thought they were out of earshot, she began dishing to Sakura.

"Sakura!" she said with an enthusiasm of at last having someone to divulge with. "I really don't know what we're doing here, but I'm really worried about what's going to happen when we get to Konoha. This little alliance we've got going is only up until we're out of Orochimaru's reach. After that it's up for grabs! And what _is_ this with you and Itachi!!" she yelled in a whisper. "I thought he was the murderer of the Uchiha clan! Are you insane!?"

"Yeah, I dunno," said Sakura confused. "I'm not sure what's going to happen, but I am confident in Itachi. He will not do me any harm whether I end up in the hands of Orochimaru or not."

"Well then what about Sasuke? Was he really the one that beat you?"

Nodding her head, Sakura looked to the ground as she was once again brought to the truth of it. Sasuke would never forgive her, and she didn't expect him to. Though, she wasn't counting on him finding out about it.

"So, are you and Itachi, you know," said Ino coming in close, "_friends?"_

Blushing, Sakura came closer. "I think I love him," she said, smiling quite suprisedly. "He's been protecting me this whole way. Of course he was rough at first, but somewhere along the way we just kinda came together...Oh..." she said coming in even closer to whisper. _"I'm not a virgin anymore,"_ she said, beaming.

"You're not a virgin anymore!?" Ino repeated louder.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!? Sakura-chan... _Sakura-chan!!"_

Suddenly Naruto had appeared. He had been hiding behind one of the trees hoping to catch a phrase. Running out to confront her, his hands were open as if to say, _"why?"_

_POW!!_

Sakura and Ino both dealt a punch to each of his cheeks. Flying thirty feet back, Naruto skid another twenty. Kakashi walked over to him and squatted.

"Naruto," said Kakashi. "When two women are huddling in whispers, trying to eavesdrop on them is like asking to be beaten."

"_uuuuuuh...uuuh..."_

Back over at the two girls, Sakura and Ino brushed off the intrusion.

"Well, we can talk about this later," said Ino. "Let me see your stomach."

Opening her shirt, Sakura pulled back the flaps.

Ino's face changed. She couldn't swallow and she turned pale. Sakura didn't even want to look down after that expression. It was better if she didn't know.

The veins that had begun to appear from the handprint had now thickened and spread. The veins reaching out were as thick as a centimeter. It looked like Sakura had gotten a tattoo of red coral on her stomach, except the color was blood red and the look of it made Ino queezy.

"Don't look..." said Ino, looking up at Sakura. "It's spreading fast, and I think the mark is causing blood to gather. We need to go..."

Running over to Kakashi, Ino told him the situation. The look that Kakashi gave them next said one thing, _time to move._

* * *

The group felt like they didn't even rest at all. Before they knew it, they were flying from branch to branch again. Soon, another two hours had passed, then another three. By this time it they were travelling in twilight.

"I think we can afford to take a break," said Kakashi to the others.

As they haulted at the next stream they crossed, everyone slumped against the tree trunks and rubbed their legs. It had been such a long haul.

"We're almost there..." gasped Ino.

"Eh, Ino," said Deidara, looking at her. "What's wrong with Naruto. He hasn't said anything since you hit him."

"Well...he just heard something that he wasn't supposed to..." she replied with a sigh.

Looking over at Naruto, Deidara could hear him mumbling.

_"Sakura-chan...Sakura-chan..."_ Naruto whimpered.

"EEEEEHH!!" yelled Deidara suddenly. He had figured it out. Lifting his hand to extend his index finger, he slowly pointed to Itachi with a look of utter shock.

"You mean to tell me...since when did you... OH MY GOD!!" he yelled.

Itachi, still showing no emotion, just stared back at him. He knew that Deidara was filled with envy, even with that look of surprise. However, everyone didn't miss his comment, and soon the situation became apparent to everyone.

"NO..." said Shikamaru. "You didn't..."

"Itachi..." trailed Kisame. "She's so young!"

Itachi looked back at them with absolutely no expression. Turning to Sakura, she was as red as a geisha's lips. She had stopped breathing and Naruto had hid his face.

"Ya-da..." said Kakashi. "I'm going to go and burn my ears off now..."

Ino slapped her forehead. "Great...At this rate the whole village will know Sakura lost her virginity to Itachi."

On that note, everybody gasped. Ino had just confirmed it.

Sakura suddenly turned white. The blood seemed to have left her face. The fact that everyone here knew her business was not as bad as the thought itself that the whole village would hear of it. Somehow or another, they would.

Everyone just sat in silence from then on with weird looks upon their faces.

_Sakura...Itachi..._ they all thought. Everyone was shocked. Deidara, was merely jealous.

After a few more moments of awkward silence, Kakashi signaled for everyone to get moving again.

Ino didn't even bother to look at Sakura this time. She didn't want to know what Sakura was thinking about her at the moment.

* * *

As the group traveled on through the night, they were all glad that the moon was bright enough to let them travel through the trees with ease.

An hour had passed since their last stop and Naruto, who was still at the rear, watched everyone's backs as they moved along. Suddenly he noticed something strange. He could smell blood.

Sniffing to himself, Naruto tried harder to verify that it was indeed blood. The next thing he knew, something had struck his face. Using his hand to wipe whatever it was off, he found that it was a blood drop that had hit his face. Confused, he looked down at the branches as he jumped from them.

With each passing branch, there were a few blood drops on them, and soon, the drops became partial footprints.

"Stop!" he yelled to them. "Someone is bleeding!"

Startled by his sudden cry, everyone jumped down from the branches.

Standing in a circle, they looked at one another confused.

"Who's bleeding?" said Deidara.

"Mmmm..." said Kisame, his shark senses had picked up on it quick. "I can smell it..."

"I smell it now..." said Kakashi.

Looking back and forth at eachother, Kakashi caught on.

"Sakura..." he said..."Walk into the moonlight."

Stepping out of the shadows, no one noticed anything.

Realizing that she was wearing all black from head to foot, Sakura put her hand on her stomach. Lifting it, she raised her hand into the light.

The brightness of her blood against the color of her white hands were startling. There was so much blood. Gasping, Sakura panicked. She didn't realize that she was bleeding!

"Open your shirt!" commanded Ino.

As she pulled back the flaps yet again, everyone stood around to see that the veins were no longer veins. It was simply one big red spot on her stomach. The technique Kabuto used was slowly drawing blood to the area. Now, it was seeping through her pores.

Quickly getting straight to the point, Kakashi spoke.

"We've been traveling for about eleven hours now. The juitsu will be wearing off soon. We need to push on."

The team agreed and took off once again, but this time their pace had quickened and they all kept glancing at the branches left behind, covered with blood.

"This is no good!" shouted Shikamaru. "If anyone's following, they won't be mistaken any longer!"

"Time is all we have now," said Ino. "Let's hope we put enough distance between us!"

* * *

They were all anxious to know that they were near Konoha, but the sight and smell of Sakura's blood was making them even more uneasy now that they were not only the prey, but they were leaving tracks behind like a deer in the snow.

Soon they had run another hour, but luckily Sakura still couldn't feel a thing. Not being able to sense anything, she didn't notice that she was turning just a bit pale. No one else could tell in that light as well. Her new symptoms went unnoticed until her body couldn't take anymore.

Suddenly Sakura's legs had given out. It was strange to suddenly see the horizon rise before her as she fell to earth. Her legs had become weak and she couldn't tell that they had chosen to give out from beneath her. Luckily, Itachi's watchful eyes caught her as soon as she mistepped, and he caught her midway to the ground.

Landing on the ground, Itachi continued a few steps before bounding back up onto the branches. Everyone did not change their pace. It was like a silent agreement that Itachi was the one to catch Sakura if she fell. Not even Naruto flinched to catch her.

Looking at Itachi's coat that was beginning to catch her blood, Sakura looked up to him. He remained looking forward, set on the destination. Looking back down, Sakura could only whisper.

"Sorry..."

* * *

As the team kept going, the trees slowly became familiar. They were close. The forrest soon began to clear and they found themselves standing upon a cliff. Looking out from their location they could see the lights of Konoha glowing in the distance.

"We're almost there!" said Naruto. "Ichiraku! Ichiraku!!"

As the rest of them looked on, happy to know they had a made it, Itachi looked down to Sakura who had fallen asleep. Giving her a little shake, he woke her up.

"Sakura," said Itachi. "We're close."

As she looked out at the lights of Konoha, she smiled a weak smile.

"Well, we've managed to make it, and at record speed. Alright, the quickest way is to run down the cliff," said Kakashi. "Itachi? Can you make it with Sakura?"

Nodding, Itachi pulled Sakura tighter to him so that she was looking over the back of his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his back to secure herself.

"Alright, there's another cliff about a hundred yards after the flat woods below." said Kakashi. "We'll make it a straight shot from here on out. It should take us about a half hour to reach the patrolled woods surrounding the village. Let's go."

The group began to run towards the edge of the cliff. As Sakura's eye level began to turn towards the sky as Itachi stepped over the cliff, she caught the gleam of two eyes coming out from the darkness behind them before turning up to see the sky.

_Oh no, _she thought. _They've found us. _

As she saw the cliff expanding before her, the heads of their enemies peered over the edge at their backs.

"They're here!" she yelled.

Alerted to the danger that lay behind them, Itachi shoved off the side of the cliff to land in a run. Suddenly they were engulfed by a shadow. Looking up, they saw a gigantic snake about to slam into them.

"Deidara!" yelled Itachi. He didn't have to say anymore.

Deidara took out a small figurine in the shape of a bird. As the party ran in a straight line to make it to the next cliff, everyone leapt out of the snakes path except Deidara and Itachi who stayed on course. When they reached the very edge, Deidara threw the bird out ahead of them so that it exploded into a giant one. Deidara then leapt onto its back as Itachi then threw Sakura at him so he could catch her beneath his arm. The bird took off and Itachi jumped aside just in time to avoid the snake slamming down to the earth.

As the snake slammed down it caused a gigantic cloud of dust and rock to rise. In the distance, the guards standing on the watchtowers of Konoha could feel the earth shake and looking out, saw the cloud of debris. They could see the head of the snake coming out from the dust. There was no mistake. Orochimaru had returned.

The bird hadn't gotten away just yet. As it soared towards Konoha, the snake shot out at the bird, extending its body so that it enclosing on them.

In an instant, Kisame leapt on the back of the snake and using his sword, he cut all the way up its back until he split the snake's head in two.

Looking back, Sakura could see the snake's slit head drop towards the earth as Kisame ran back towards the cliff to join the others in the fight. She desperately looked for Itachi's figure. She couldn't see him anywhere.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Soaring towards Konoha, Sakura pointed in the direction of Tsunade's building marked with the symbol "fire." As the bird began to descend, shots of arrows flew through the sky at them. Everyone below was not yet aware of the situation. The only thing they could do now was make it to Tsunade before they got shot down.

As they flew over houses, Sakura could see shinobi from all directions swarming after them on the rooftops.

"Get them before they reach the Hokage!" one shinobi yelled as he chased after them.

"This is bad!" yelled Sakura.

As they neared Tsunade's office, they saw a figure standing upon the roof. Tsunade had come out to greet them.

Sakura knew that expression. It was the one Tsunade would always wear when she got serious. Taking a stance, Tsunade was preparing to deliver a powerful blow.

_Oh no..._she thought.

Pushing herself to stand, Sakura got up so that her pink hair could be caught by Tsunade's eye. As the bird began to soar upward to avoid a collision, Sakura leapt out at Tsunade. A moment before Sakura reached her, Tsunade spotted her hair and catching that it was Sakura, pulled her punch in time. Sakura then landed on Tsunade causing her to fall back.

Sakura began to lift herself off Tsunade when finally, the pain set in.

"Aaaah..." she yelped, dropping back down on Tsunade.

The shock of the pain came on so quick and intense that Sakura passed out immediately.

Alarmed, Tsunade flipped Sakura over and found that her green kimono was covered with blood.

"Sakura!" she yelled. "What's wrong!"

Above them the bird had shrunk and Deidara dropped down to them. He immediately started talking to dispell any misconceptions.

"The wound is from Kabuto..." he explained. "He burned her at the stomach. There was a handprint left with veins of blood stretching out. It's causing her blood to collect there. She's bleeding to death..."

Suddenly the door to the roof slammed open and Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, came at them with a kunai.

"Stop Shizune!" she yelled.

At that moment, a swarm of shinobi leapt over the sides of the compound, including several ANBU. Shizune rushed to stop them all.

"Get everyone off the roof!" Tsunade screamed. "ANBU! Get the medical team! Shizune! Assist!"

Turning the roof into an operating room, Tsunade ripped open Sakura's shirt. Taking off her jacket, she used it wipe the blood stain away. She could barely make out the handprint anymore.

_This is a torturing juitsu_, she thought. _Where did Kabuto learn this... _

"How long has it been?" she barked at Deidara.

"About twelve and a half hours. We used the Survival Juitsu on her to get her to you in time."

_This is bad,_ thought Tsunade._ Who knows how much more damage Sakura took while traveling. Well, they got her here before she died._

Suddenly an ANBU appeared.

"Tsunade-sama," he said. "A giant snake has been spotted on the cliffs West of Konoha."

"Is it another attack on the village?" she asked.

"No, there seems to be fighting on the ridge."

_Kakashi..._ Nodding her head, Tsunade then gave her instructions.

"Send three ANBU squads. Tell everyone else to prepare in the event that the fight draws near the village. Start the evacuations and have all remaining shinobi gathered at the wall. We need to prepare for an attack."

"Hai!"

As soon as the ANBU disappeared, Tsunade began to work.

"Give me a kunai."

Shizune gave the one she was holding to her.

Tsunade began to make small incisions surrounding the handprint.

"Shizune, you'll need to know this. Watch closely," she began to explain. "Kabuto compressed the area where his handprint is with chakra. The indentation is what gives its away. By doing this he stops the veins in that area from flowing. Then, by concentrating the chakra so that it acts like a battery, he embeds it there so that it draws blood towards the center at a controlled rate. The chakra also makes the surrounding veins capable of expanding, allowing her veins to stretch with it so that it kills her slowly."

Shizune nodded.

"Now," continued Tsunade, making her last incision. "I am relieving the pressure by draining the surrounding blood so that I don't cause the veins that are compressed to explode when I decompress them."

Tsunade then handed the shinai to Shizune. Taking one hand to match the handprint, she concentrated chakra there while continuing on.

"Next, I'm going to begin decompressing the mark. To do this, I first need to withdraw any of the remaining chakra that Kabuto left to draw the blood. You need to feel the difference in energies between Sakura and Kabuto's chakra so that you don't remove hers instead. Removing the remaining chakra has to be done FIRST. If I try to pull out chakra while I decompress, it'll cause the veins to rupture and damage the tissue."

After a few seconds, Tsunade had finished.

"Now," she said. "To decompress, you'll have to control your chakra precisely so that it fills just the handprint, all the way up to its borders. Form a thin sheet of chakra at the base of the indent and all the way up the sides to create a border. Slowly begin to expand the base upwards until it matches the rest of the body. As you expand, you will need to maintain the side borders and only begin releasing it after doing the insides, starting from the bottom and working your way up. This will help the blood to return slowly without damaging anything."

As she said this, Tsunade had already begun decompressing the tissue. After the process went on for about five minutes, the only thing left was a bruise.

The medical team arrived.

"Check her," ordered Tsunade. "There is still some minor damage. Make sure she does not leave the hospital."

Tsunade then turned to face West.

"You!" she commanded, indicating Deidara. "Get your bird..."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"So..." said Orochimaru. "It seems we've lost our purpose..."

In the distance Orochimaru had seen Deidara disappear into the dark sky with Sakura. There was no way they'd catch up now.

"Maybe you should go back to your hole then," said Naruto. He was gritting his teeth at the very sight of Orochimaru.

"Still trying to command those above you weakling?" responded Sasuke.

To that last remark, Naruto could not say anything. The pain of being unable to convince his comrade to return had not disappeared. It burned inside of him seeing him there.

"Ano..." interjected Kakashi. "I guess now is as good as a time as any...Sakura..."

Before Kakashi could finish telling Orochimaru that Sakura was not of any use to him, Sasuke had started the fight. He had spotted Itachi in the shadows. This drove Sasuke crazy. Having Sasuke as a loose canon in the face of his most hated enemy did not help the situation.

What was worse than Sasuke's rage against Itachi was that Naruto had commenced fighting with Orochimaru. His temper had gotten the best of him and now he was charging straight for him.

"Naruto!" yelled Kakashi.

"Looks like it can't be helped," said Kabuto. With that he dashed down the mountain straight for Kakashi.

Whipping out their kunai, they were locked immediately, both equally causing pressure against the other.

"Katon! Gokakyu no juitsu!" yelled Itachi, releasing at once a giant fireball that shot at Sasuke with amazing speed.

Turning around Ino found herself directly in the path of the giant fireball as Sasuke dodged out of the way. Before it hit her, Kisame picked her up and jumped out of the way.

"Arigatou," said Ino.

"Better watch yourself," he said. "This isn't time to look pretty."

Frowning, Ino jumped directly into the fight followed by Kisame. Shikamaru was stunned. He didn't know who he should be fighting. Naruto was the only one who seemed to be unable to handle his opponent. Hoping to even the fight, he joined Naruto in attacking Orochimaru, who moved as if toying with them.

Everything was just a mess. There was no purpose in their fighting except anger and vengeance. This left them all feeling a little confused on how they should be handling the situation. Fighting like this only meant that someone was going to die eventually, and there would be nothing to have been gained when it happened.

* * *

The doors of the infirmary burst open as the medical team wheeled a gurney carrying Sakura. At their side ran Shizune. As they made their way down the hall, Sakura came to.

"Where..." she muttered.

"Sakura!" shouted Shizune. "You're alright! Tsunade-sama stopped the juitsu."

"Itachi..."

"Huh? Itachi?"

"ITACHI!!" screamed Sakura. With that she jumped off the gurney and took off down the hall, bursting out of the front doors of the hospital and scaring a nurse as she was about to walk in.

"Sakura!!" yelled Shizune after her.

Racing through the streets, Sakura found that she was still in her black clothes covered in blood. Everything was hazy and she was merely running on what she could remember.

"Itachi..." she stammered as she ran through the streets leaving only tears behind.

She could no longer feel any pain, but she did feel weak. The pain of having missed the battle and to have once again been hopeless in the face of the enemy overpowered her exhaustion and was fueled by her will to reach her friends. This time she risked more than losing face...She risked losing Itachi without ever seeing him again.

_Not again..._she thought. _I refuse to be left behind! Not this time! Wait for me..._

As she breached the gate to the west, she took off into the forest leaving nothing but the shinobi at the gates to watch her back as she left.

Sakura was resolute. This time she would leave no room for regrets.

* * *

The battle was still raging in chaos. As Naruto and Shikamaru were battling Orochimaru, Ino and Kisame had taken to fighting Kabuto with Kakashi. No one would dare get between the brothers and their fight.

"This is no good," said Kakashi to Kisame and Ino. "If Naruto stays with Orochimaru, it won't be long before the Kyuubi takes over. Stay with Kabuto, I'm going to switch this up a bit."

Ditching the battle at hand, Kakashi ran over to Orochimaru's fight. Grabbing Naruto by the wrist, Kakashi flung him around towards the fight with Kabuto.

"Naruto!" commanded Kakashi. "Help Ino and Kisame, we can't risk the Kyuubi while Yamato-sensei is not here."

Biting his lip, Naruto accepted this fact and remembering the last time he went out of control, submitted.

Now faced with Kakashi and Shikamaru, Orochimaru recognized that he was now fighting the two most cunning of the bunch. As Kakashi disappeared, Orochimaru froze to sense his attack.

Suddenly Orochimaru jumped back as the hand of Kakashi came reaching at him from out of the ground. He had just missed his attack.

As soon as Orochimaru had landed, he was caught by Shikamaru's shadow. With that, Kakashi came at him with a Chitori and jabbed the thunder cut right into his stomach.

_I felt it_, thought Kakashi_. I hit the body. _

Standing before Kakashi and Shikamaru was a limp form of Orochimaru. Suddenly, the mouth of the body began to spread, and another head of Orochimaru emerged... He was shedding his skin, a tactic he used to constantly avoid damage and escape.

However, as another head began to emerge, out of the sky came Tsunade who brought down the heel of her foot directly on Orochimaru's head.

_BOOM!_

Everybody jumped back. The shock of her leg coming down was like a boulder that fell off a cliff. Where Orochimaru was standing now lay a small crater.

"_NOBODY TOUCH HIM!" _yelled Tsunade. _"HE'S MINE!!"_

Nodding, both Shikamaru and Kakashi went off to join the others.

Out of the pit came Orochimaru's voice.

"Tsunade... so you came out here to greet me yourself..."

"You must be stupid to come back here Orochimaru!" she shouted. "_Get up! I wanna enjoy this!"_

As the image of Orochimaru came snaking out of the pit, he was no longer smiling his evil smile. This was no time to fool around with Tsunade standing before him.

"As crazy as ever I see..." he slithered.

_"Eat shit..."_

With that, Tsunade came lunging forward and just missed him, slamming her fist into the ground creating another crater.

The last thing Tsunade wanted was a battle of the beasts, her slug and his snake like last time. This time there were people and the village was too near. She couldn't risk fighting him in that way with so many people around to get hurt.

As Orochimaru counter-attacked and defended himself, Tsunade made sure that she was always one step ahead in keeping him from summoning the Snake King.

Soon after Tsunade and Orochimaru began to fight, they were joined by ANBU. Seeing as they had no one they could really fight, they waited in the trees in case something should happen to Tsunade-sama. Their purpose was to lend a hand if needed, but it also meant that they were the last hope if she failed. Once again, Tsunade had made sure that they had a plan B. If she died and Orochimaru decided to summon the Snake King, the ANBU squads were Konoha's safety net.

As the ANBU watched the battle unfold, they turned to their left to see Deidara standing in the tree beside them.

"Yo!" he said, waving his one arm.

You couldn't see the expression of the ANBU members through their masks, but it was easy to tell that they were clearly confused on what to say to that.

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi's fight was a different story. Their Sharingan proved to be massively dangerous in the sense that no one could follow their movements. The mixture of fire and the flash of Sasuke's sword and Chitori were blinding. No one watching their fight would even be able to intervene.

Itachi vanished, reappearing behind Sasuke. As he made to grab him, Sasuke set off his full-body Chitori. Itachi, sensing the move before it happened, managed to avoid it.

Dashing through the trees, Sasuke looked crazed the longer he looked at Itachi. He managed to get behind Itachi but before he could strike him, Itachi vanished once again, only this time it was different.

Turning around, Sasuke found himself face-to-face with his brother. Sasuke froze where he stood. Itachi had finally got him with his Mangekyo Sharingan.

The world swirled around Sasuke, and when he opened his eyes he found himself in a world of red and black. Above him were white clouds against a red sky flowed by as if playing and then rewinding over and over. A voice from behind him spoke.

"Let me teach you something you have yet to learn, little brother..."

Sasuke screamed as a searing pain burst through his stomach. Looking down, the blade of a sword was protruding through his abdomen. Ripping the sword back out, Itachi saw Sasuke squirm in pain.

Itachi remained behind Sasuke, stabbing him in uneven intervals, which in turn played with Sasuke's mind even more. Not being able to see when the stabs were coming left him unable to anticipate the pain.

"Sakura told me something..." said Itachi. "Those bruises she had... were from you..." with that last word Itachi stabbed the blade through Sasukes back and out his stomach, but this time he began to pull the blade out by cutting through his body sideways. A blood-thirsty look was in Itachi's eyes.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHH!!" screamed Sasuke, his head drooping.

"...There were exactly twenty-one bruises and thirteen gashes you left her with...I think that sums up to about thirty-four hours of this..."

* * *

A second had passed and Sasuke screamed out in agony. Everyone stopped to see what had happened.

_Mangekyo Sharingan..._thought Kakashi. _I don't want to know what Itachi did to him after what he did to Sakura..._

Over by Kabuto's fight, Kakashi and the other three shinobi had their hands full. Although Kabuto wasn't an Orochimaru, nevertheless, he put out an amazing fight. His medical talents surpassed most in the shinobi world, and that's where their problems lay.

Every time someone got a hit in, he could easily heal himself. The blades he formed at the tips of his hand cut through tendons and nerves. It took a great degree of control to fight in this style, using chakra to form the blades and then maintaining them for an attack. For these kinds of attacks, Kisame was best at thwarting them.

Kisame's blade ate chakra, and whenever he got a hit in Kabuto lost some of his. However, Kabuto was still a tactful shinobi that easily kept a safe distance during most of the fight. To try and gain the upper hand against Kabuto's healing ability, Shikamaru and Ino began to work together in pushing Kabuto towards Kisame's blade while Kakashi and Naruto threw their strikes every time he tried to retreat. Slowly but surely, Kabuto would weaken. However, that would not last long as yet another wanted to join in the fight.

Out of the shadows came Sakura, and jamming her chakra-filled fist into the right cheek of Kabuto's face, she blasted him back, splitting three trees as he went.

_"NOBODY TOUCH HIM!" _she shouted. _"HE'S MINE!!"_

Kakashi was stunned. _Sakura, _he thought. _You've become amazingly just like Tsunade-sama._

None of them could argue with Sakura's demand. Not even Kisame. The look on her face said it all: _I'm going to kill you._

As the others stepped back to watch, they were now left with no enemy to fight.

Chuckling, Kabuto slowly got to his feet.

"So," he said. "I see you're still alive. How'd you like my juitsu? Did it make you feel...touched?"

Glaring, Sakura wasted no time in punching the ground and driving a crack in the earth straight towards Kabuto. Dodging, he chuckled as he leapt out of the way.

However, as he made his way out of danger, Sakura was already coming at him from above with the moon's light blurring the image of her as Kabuto looked up. Too late...Sakura's fist sunk into his face. The sight of her face indenting Kabuto's face made everybody watching, _cringe._

Sakura landed on her feet while Kabuto crashed into the ground to make another hole in the earth. As she began to slowly walk over to his body, her fist glowed with chakra. Every member of the ANBU knew, _this was it._

* * *

Orochimaru was still staving off Tsunade's attacks but he could still see that the two people he was most dependant on were down. Without Sasuke, Orochimaru would have to find another shell after grooming Sasuke for so long. Without Kabuto, he couldn't perform the procedure, so he had to call it quits. Disappearing, Orochimaru evaded his fight with Tsunade.

Orochimaru suddenly reappeared behind Kabuto. Sakura stopped short a few feet away from delivering her final blow.

"Kabuto..." said Orochimaru. "Let's go."

Nodding, Kabuto vanished before Sakura or the others could grab him.

Itachi was a way off from the rest. As he had returned Sasuke's mind to reality, Sasuke collapsed to the ground. Before he landed however, Kabuto caught him under the arm and disappeared with him as Orochimaru sent a strike to Itachi so quick that he was forced to dodge. However, by the time Itachi landed on his feet, the three of them were gone.

Once again, Orochimaru managed to evade death. With not emotion on his face, Itachi stood there watching the empty spot where his brother should have been laying dead...


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Everyone who was left on the battlefield was now left in silence. The ANBU were still uncomfortably close to Deidara.

Tsunade stood there facing away from the others. A small breeze passed through, picking up her pigtails as it went. Her white undershirt was covered with blood and dirt. Clenching her fist, she was disappointed that Orochimaru had managed to avoid death by her hands yet again.

"Tsunade-sama..." said an ANBU who suddenly appeared kneeling behind her.

"Have the ANBU squads return to the village...Tell everyone they can return to their homes, the fight is over," said Tsunade, not even turning to look at him.

Everyone was disappointed, not just Tsunade. Once again they were unable to save Sasuke, but they were thankful that they all still had their lives and the village was not harmed.

After the ANBU disappeared, Tsunade turned around to face the remaining members of this mission gone awry.

"Tomorrow you will all have to explain this to me. Until then, I'm going to say that there is no problem...right?" she said, looking from one Akatsuki member to another until her eyes rested on Itachi.

Itachi nodded, giving his silent agreement that this was over...for now. They weren't ready to take the Kyuubi, and until that time they would not move without the orders of the other Akatsuki members now that the situation had changed. Sakura's position was no longer what it once was, and they felt they no longer needed to maintain her.

As the Konoha shinobi turned to leave, Sakura was left standing between the two parties.

Stopping, Tsunade spoke to Sakura without turning around, "Sakura...I expect to see you tomorrow morning for a full report..." With that last note, Tsunade continued on as the others followed.

Naruto remained, his eyes on Sakura. As he trusted her, he gave her a nod, then turned to follow the others.

Sakura did not look up until they had left. Turning to Itachi, she looked him in the eyes, her own filling with tears. Glancing at Deidara and Kisame, she couldn't work up the courage to say anything in front of them.

"Well, Deidara," said Kisame. "I think it's time we head back."

"See you around, Sakura," grinned Deidara. Together, he and Kisame began to walk into the depths of the forest, leaving Itachi and Sakura alone.

"Ano..." whispered Sakura. "Arigatou...Arigatou gozaimashita..."

She smiled that same fake smile she gave Naruto when she didn't want to show her pain. Itachi looked on at her, his face emotionless as usual. He did not say anything.

Smiling a fake smile again, Sakura knew that she was wasting her breath waiting for him to speak. Itachi had started for her but before he could reach her, Sakura ran towards Konoha before a tear could fall, leaving Itachi behind.

Crying as she ran back, Sakura's heart burned and she couldn't stop gasping. She could not see any way for her to have a life with Akastuki. It was just impossible with all the obligations she had left in Konoha. Her mother must have suffered, and Sakura could not let herself be tempted into abandoning her duties to the village and the bonds that she had. Most of all, she could not leave Naruto.

Itachi stood there watching her back as she ran away. He did not call out to her, but remained there until he could no longer see her.

"Itachi..." came a voice from the shadows. "What are you doing?"

Once again, Kisame and Deidara were eavesdropping on him.

"Are you just going to leave it like this?" continued Kisame.

Still facing the direction that Sakura ran off in, Itachi let a breeze catch his untied bangs as he stood there contemplating. He did not know what to do in a situation like this.

"Come on," said Deidara. "You can catch up...but if you're that invalid, I can send the bird..."

"No..." said Itachi. "Let her go..."

Turning his back to Konoha, Itachi walked away into the night, leaving nothing but the sound of the wind trailing behind.

* * *

As the team entered the gates, Sakura trailed behind them. They all said goodnight to each other before parting ways, eager to return home for some much needed rest.

"Sakura-chan..." said Naruto.

"Hmm?" she responded, this time not bothering to give a smile.

"Arigatou..." he went on. "After losing Sasuke, I really don't know what I'd do without you..."

"Don't worry Naruto...I won't leave you..." said Sakura softly, then smiled a thoughtful smile. In that moment, Naruto understood just how much she loved and cared for him. He would always be able to count on her, and he would always be able to trust that she would be there when the time came for taking Sasuke back.

Naruto then did something he had never done before...He hugged her while she was still concious.

Her eyes welling up, Sakura burst into tears and hugged him back. Her fingers dug into his jacket as she poured out her heart's sorrow.

Naruto squeezed her and held her tight. He was thankful that she had given up on Itachi to have a full life, but at the same time he felt guilty that he was rejoicing over her selfless act that caused her so much pain and anguish. He didn't know what to say, so he just held her as she cried.

Finally getting back up, Sakura wiped the rest of the tears from her face.

"Arigatou Naruto-kun," she stuttered before smiling. "I'm better now."

Returning her smile, Naruto said, "let's take a walk," and so they did.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura walked down the streets of Konoha that were now silent again after the villagers returned to their homes. The only company they had were the streetlamps that lit their path. They did not know where they were going, but their subconcious minds did. Before they knew it, they were walking back to where it all began.

Before them stood the very same bench where Naruto found Sakura crying before this whole ordeal started. However, this bench meant much more to them than that.

Here was the bench that they ate lunch on the first day Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke became a team. It was the same bench that Naruto almost kissed Sakura, even though he was disguised as Sasuke. For Sakura it meant the beginning and breaking of her bond with Sasuke. Everything significant that had to do with their relationship as a team happened here at this spot, and as they sat down, the cold chill of the concrete reminded them of just how cold life could be.

"Sakura-chan..." began Naruto. "What do you think would have happened if you left Konoha?"

For a while Sakura sat comtemplating that question she had already asked herself.

"I don't know...When you actually stop to think about it, I can kill other shinobi and handle being hurt, but when it comes to love, I guess none of that helps one bit. I'm not sure what would have happened...Maybe Itachi would have given me up..." After a long pause, Sakura whispered, "...or maybe not..."

Sinking her head, Sakura leaned back. Naruto was sitting hunched over, looking at his feet.

"You still smell like blood," he said.

"I do?" said Sakura, picking at her shirt and smelling it. "Gross."

"I thought you were going to die," said Naruto. "It drove me crazy. I didn't know what would happen if I lost you. It was the same way when you almost left... I'm glad you chose to stay..."

"Baka...Like I said before, I could never leave you." With that, Sakura smiled at him.

Naruto was comforted at last. He couldn't let go of it until he finally said everything that he needed to say. In his heart, Naruto was glad to know that he would always have someone by his side, and that someone, was Sakura.

"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you home..."


	15. Chapter 15

The dawn of the next morning brought the song of birds that echoed in the distance through Sakura's window. The sun was just peeking into to the valley, making everything glow with the soft light of a new day.

Sakura opened her eyes and was almost immediately awake. She lay there in disbelief that so much had happened. Did she really fall in love with Itachi? Did she really feel the touch of his warmth upon her skin as he encircled her with his love? Questions like these seemed to be answered as if they were just a dream she once had.

_Was it a dream?_ she asked herself.

Sitting up, Sakura began to put the pieces of the previous night together. She remembered sitting with Naruto, and the love she felt for their friendship as he walked her home. They had truly become closer, and their friendship was sealed with blood. Sakura was certain she had made the right choice, but the loneliness of being without Itachi ate at her insides and hung like a weight around her heart.

Walking to the window, Sakura looked out into the street that had only a few people out during this early morning. She thought about when she came back home. Her mother cried as she wrapped her arms around Sakura. She had been crying the whole time while she was gone, fearing that she had lost her daughter forever.

Sakura remembered the color of the water turning red as she washed the blood out of her hair. Lifting up her shirt, Sakura looked down and saw that there was a bruise in the shape of a handprint left on her stomach. She ran her hand over it to feel the tender skin. As she did this, she noticed something.

On the windowsill of her room, there was a footprint. Kabuto's perhaps, but as she followed the lining of the window, she found that someone had placed there on the windowsill a Sakura, a cherry blossom.

Sakura ran her fingers through her hair.

_That's right, _she thought. _I could have swore that as I lay sleeping someone had tucked me into them and caressed my head...Itachi?..._

Whipping around, Sakura noticed something else. Folded neatly and placed carefully upon her desk was something white.

Walking over to it, Sakura picked it up. Holding it out so that it would unfold, she discovered that it was her night dress. Sakura could feel that it was still warm. Lifting it to her face she could smell him.

_He was just here..._ she thought. _Why didn't I wake up!?_

Hugging the dress to her chest, Sakura teared. She was happy and sad at the same time. He had not forgotten about her afterall, but yet she was still alone. Smiling, Sakura stayed there holding the dress close to her heart.

"Sakura!" came her mother's voice from downstairs. "Breakfast is ready! Don't be late to give your report to Hokage-sama!"

"Hai!" she yelled.

Smiling again, Sakura kissed the dress and lay it back down on her desk. Grabbing her clothes to change, Sakura knew...it wasn't over...

* * *

- The End -

*** Thanks for sticking with my story this long! I hoped you all enjoyed it. If you liked it, you can check out the sequel! It's under "Itachi and Sakura: Two Souls of One Heart 2!" **PLEASE PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW!!!!!!!** I always get worried about whether anyone is enjoying it, whether it sucks.... or if anyone is even reading it, period!!!!! It's good to know that at least some people are making it to the end. hehehe....

XD ***ARIGATOU GOZAIMASHITA!!!!!*** *bows*


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